MTE

OK, So I haven't really had to do anything super hard yet, but they are going to start here pretty soon haha. We did have to go talk to the Stake President and inform him how well the missionaries are doing in his Stake and stuff like that. President Donaldson was there, so I am already getting what I wanted! :-) More time around President Donaldson!

The Stake President meeting was 2 weeks ago when the transfer started. This last week we had the first round of Mission Training Excerise/Exchange (MTE) For 3 days we listened and talked with President Doanaldson and discussed ways that we can best help the mission improve and grow. Possibly multipling baptisms by 10 times! How sweet would that be? I am going to be a part of something incredible and I am just loving it. This week and next week, we will be out with other missionaries, training them on the things that we discussed in MTE and helping them put it into practice. It is a lot like the program that we had 3 months ago, but this time I got to help put it together and organize it :-)

Ever since Thursday, the last day that we were organizing the MTE, we have seen miracles happen. During the MTE, President Donaldson made us a special promise. He said, if we will put things of the world behind us, have a more sense of urgency and diligence in this work, we will be blessed. Our investigators that we are working with will begin to progress faster than we have ever thought possible, and the Lord will help us as leaders of the mission, to start multiplying baptisms in our area. Then in the zone we work with and then the mission.... Elder Roney and I decided to do that. We prayed and asked the Lord help us, that we would like to have 5 baptisms in the month of March.

Already we have been seeing miracles and changes. We went over to a members home on Friday, sat down with one of her non member sisters and started talking with her. We found out that she has been having a rough time with everything in her life lately and is looking for something to fill this gap that she feels she has. So Elder Roney and I took some thought and began to teach her the restoration. We taught her with more power and more from the spirit than I have ever done before in my mission. We gave her a Book of Mormon and asked her to read it. She said yes. We then were getting ready to leave, so we asked her if she would be willing to pray. She was a little hesitant at first but then said yes. In all of my mission experiences for one year, I had never heard a more heart felt spirit driven prayer to our Heavenly Father to know of the truth that we had just shared with her. She was crying during the entire prayer, the spirit was in the room and testifying to her with every word she said that what we had taught her was true. She finished her prayer and we were all sitting there, quiet for a minute or two. We asked her if she had any questions before we left. She told us that she was baptized before in the Catholic Church and was wondering if she would need to be baptized again. Elder Roney and I told her that we could answer her question by using the scriptures.

We went to 2 Ne 31 and read it, verse by verse explaining the doctrine of Christ. It was my turn to teach and use verses 11 and 12, so we read them and we helped her answer her own question. As I asked her the question that the Holy Ghost was prompting me to say, I saw a click and she understood that she needs to be baptized by someone who has the authority to do it. Elder Roney and I believe that she will be getting baptized this next Sunday. She came to church and loved it.

So we have already seen the promise that President Donaldson gave to us being fulfilled. We are going to have a lot of good experiences over the next 5 weeks. It is awesome. I am so blessed to be able to have this opportunity to do this work and be a part of something so great. Thank you for teaching me while I was young the things I needed to do to become the person I am and will become. Love you guys so much. and will talk with you next week.

~ELDER RYAN GARDNER

PS. Exactly one year from today, March 1st, I will be home... I don't have that much time left. I have to make it count.