His Path Takes Us Safely Home!

FAMIGLIA MIA,

What a miracle filled week. I really feel like Mormón right now..I cant even right the hundreth part of how I feel or the miracles and blessings I have taken part in. But I will just have to tell yall all about it next week. :)

Today I had just about the most fun pday activity in all of my mission, a great big water balloon fight with the whole zone! Of course Hermana Macías and I got the most wet. It was sure fun and a great day to spend my last pday in Talara. :) 

We are ALL children of God, and he loves ALL of us, despite our weaknesses and defects. That truth has been testified to me over and over again this week and for this past 18 months as weve talked to and encountered homeless, drunk, or lonely people. People who dont have anything. He loves all of us, and I know that he has a plan. We all have his love. 

So we have really been putting to practice what Elder Evans taught us last week. Talking WITH and not TO people, and remembering the need for repentance, personally and with our investigators. If they are not invited to repent, they will go from faith to baptism, missing that crucial change of heart. Repenting is something we need to do everyday. Im so thankful for it!

Fasting and prayer really works. My dear companion has really taught me that. The other night our companionship prayer lasted 30 minutes! She is a real example of faith. We need help, guidance, and cant do this on our own. Asking God is an act of humility that leads us in the path.  

We started talking to Fabiolla in the street, and she is a Jehovas Witness. She was so loving and asked us lots of questions. It turns out she had been to the church before, but after assisting at every other church possible, decided that her current church is true. It was obvious she didnt want us to go visit her, but she had mentioned her mom while we were talking, that she doesnt attend any church, and that she is searching for the truth. So we asked to visit her mom Nelly! She said yes, since she wants her to be happy and find what is right for her. But she said to not tell her that she sent us.  We ended up going a few days later, and at first she didnt want to receive us. She was this cute older lady with gray and black hair. We got talking and testified for the restored gospel. She asked, ïs it necessary to have a church to be saved?¨We talked about saving ordinances such as baptism, and how that was necessary to return to live in the presence of God. Her face changed a little, the spirit had touched her heart, and well she let us in! She cried telling us of life experiences, and well we are going back. :) I am so thankful for that experience. 

I aboslutely know we have a prophet of God on earth! His name is Thomas S. Monson. I love his talk from conference, ¨ponder the path of thy feet.¨ He talks about how Christ had to walk the paths of temptation, disappointment, and pain. We also have to walk these paths to become like him. I sure have walked these paths on the mission, and am forever thankful for it. Because without these experiences, I would never have been able to feel such great joy. The path Christ showed us leads us safely home. We just have to keep enduring through it all, and enjoying all of it! I know my path will be leading me home to college station real soon. It breaks my heart to leave these people I have grown to love so deeply for the past year and a half. But I know they are in good hands, God´s hands. Part of my heart will always be here in Peru!

Id love to tell yall all about Lila, Roberto, Y Andy, but I´ve just ran out of time. Dont worry, it´s all in my Journal. :)

It still isnt sinking in that this is really my last week here in Peru. Im sure giving each day all I´ve got, and know that we will find families this week that will be perpared to receive the resotred gospel in their lives. Time to go out and find them!

Im sure thankful for everyone of you. Have a wonderful thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. Especially to be part of the restored church of jesus Christ. Lets go tell everyone about it.

Los amo más que todo!!!

nos vemos.

Love,

Hermana A E Garlick

 

Piura: My Hot, Dusty, Northern Peruvian Desert-and the Most Beautiful Place in the World!

Hola Familia!!

I love everyday and love every week! It sure has been a great one and am just so so happy. I know this gospel is true and I am so happy to be part of it. 

Elder Evans came saturday, and we had a meeting with him with our whole mission! We woke up at 330am to get there in time. So worth it. It was my first time ever to be with the whole mission. It was really neat! It was fun seeing all the missionaries together, we are 200somthing. Edler Evans was so inspired. He and his wife were so cute. They had a translator, man that would be a tough job but he did so great! Anyways, Elder Evans shared lots of his experiences in Japan, which was so cool. Thats where he served his mission, and he was also mission president there with his wife! He said the mission they served in didnt have much natural beauty, kind of like Piura. haha :) He said his experience when they landed in the airport was shocking. You had to walk off the plane on a latter and walk to the building on foot. He said, Piura, its a wonderful world, a different world. He is right! I remember thinking the same thing when we landed a year and a half ago. ïs this the right place? and well, it sure was. :) He said this desert will be forever beautiful to. And, he is right!  It´s the people, the experiences, the branches, and  the love I have felt! I really have found the most beautiful place in the world. It is going to be hard saying goodbye. I have loved serving each day and learning from these humble people. They have taught me more than I have taught them, and I am forever grateful for Piura peru! He also taught mosiah 18. what a beautiful chapter!! yall need to read it, and we need to more fully live our baptimal covenant, even until death. :) I love it! 

I also found out in teh meeting from the missionaries in Chulucanas, that Carola, an investigator we had that made the pizzas, is getting baptized in december!!! :) I smiled so big when I heard that, I konw everyone has their time! 

And of course I have to give a shout out to Nate and Hayley!! i am so excited y'all are engaged and am super happy for y'all! :) The church is true, families can be together forever, and we just got to keep moving forward in this great plan! everyday is so worth it. Come what may and love it!

Love yall!!
hna Garlick

More PERU Adventures!

La obra del Senor es majestuosa

MI querida familia,

Did yall know how much I love being a missionary?! Well I do! It´s so sweet and special and has been going by so fast. The work of the lord is magestic! :) This week was full of miracles like usual and here are a few of them!

First we had interviews with Presidente Rowley, and I always love those, because I always come out so much better! Presidente Rowley has a way at looking into your eyes, but he looks further than that, and through the spirit knows exaclty what to say. He asked me if there was anything on my mind, and I told him my great desire to help these two branch presidents and these branches. He told me the best way I can help them is to find new families who are prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that and that´s what we are doing!

Juan and Nelly have been doing really great! They are a family who has been inactive but want to return to the church! They came to church and Juan said he called his sister to tell her. He hadnt been to church in 7 years, and his sister said, what disease has hit peru! haha I know what disease it is, its the spirit! It was an incredible experience finding them. Through a prayer of faith in teh street, hna Macias and I were led to knock their door! I know that the power prayer works, and faith is the factor that makes it function. 

Also, Liliana came to church out of the blue! She is Evangelica, (im not too sure how to say that in ingles..) and well lets just say we were so surprised to see her because she barely had time for us when we went,and only taught for about 10 minutes because she was making lunch. Well, she just loved church, and greeted EVERYONE. I loved it! She participated in the classes too, and well just wants to learn more! Shes tall and has a big powerful voice, and I hope she keeps progressing because I know she would just make an incredible member. She said she has a leadership posisitin in her church ¨puerta estrecha y angosta¨and well it ends in December. So she said in january she can join the church :) I sure hope she does! She was a reference from members too, so keep giving references to the missionaries!  We are so thankful for those!! 

Elder David F. Evans is coming to our mission Saturday! Im so so excited! We are reading one of his talks to prepare. It´s called, ¨was it worth it?¨and this is my favorite part--

¨If we will pray and ask Heavenly Father who we can help and promise to act on the promptings He gives us letting us know how we can help, He will answer our prayers.¨ -

So consider yourselves invited by a setenta to pray in faith to help someone this week, and you will be guided! Im doing it too :) Write me what happens this week! We helped a lady carry two sacks of bannanas the other day, hopefully this week we can find someone to help again. :)

Los amo muchísimo!

Hna Garlick

Now I'm willing and I accept!

My dear family!

It has been a great week!  Full of miracles, the spirit, new investigators, lots of new ideas and christmas decorations? what??! That came fast. This week was Canción Criolla, on halloween, a celebration of the music of Peru! I really want to learn all of these peruivian dances one day. But until then, we have been able to find new families and are seeing progress in the branches. Little by little. The leaders from both branches have been feeling alone lately, so we have been supporting them more and finding new ways to serve and help. Oh, and it was also día de los muertos! Everyone went to the cemetary and traveled back to their home lands if they have moved. They have parties there all night!  Im glad we live far from the cemetary. 

 I have really been focusing on the gifts of the spirit and being worthy of them, and it has been incredible to feel how much more I have felt the spirit working through me as I constantly strive after those gits. In our district meeting we talked about them, and one thing that came to my mind was that when we obtain more gifts of the spirit, we are better able to help others to obtain them as well. I had the opportuinity to help Rene do her visiting teaching, and afterwards she was so sweet. She said, ÿou are so spiritual, I ahve never been so guided by the spirit in a visit before.¨ Well, it wasnt me, it was the spirit, and it was awesome that she was able to recognize that!

One great miracle was how we were led to Consuelo (that means comfort.) and her three kids. Well our message sure can bring her consuelo! :) Her daughter had attended church before, and they are suffering trials right now with the separation of her husband. When we walked by the door I felt a surge of the spirit guiding me there. They are super interested and she says that she will be baptized when she knows all this is true! I love finding people who really truly have a desire to change and to come to know what we teach is true! 

The other miracles we have seen are helping to complete part member families. Through our recent converts and less actives and asking for references always, we have so much more work to do! I love it. Im so thankful for this great work and I know that there is so much more work through the spirit to do here in this lovely month of November! Im ready to do it! We have been teaching Carlos Zapata´s kids! Jesus (14) and Marryanngel (10). they both live with their mom, who is evangelica and doenst want to listen to us, but she says her kids can. Carlos lives a few streets away, and he takes them to churhc with him and its the greatest. Really the reason why they started listening to us was thanks to two way great other recent converts, Fernando and Kristofer maldonado! They just went over to his house and told him how cool the gospel was, and finding those two friends was what made him loose any fear in coming to chruch! When we were teaching him, he said yes to being baptized right away! I sure hope Ill be here for that, but if not thats ok too. I am just so blessed to be part of this conversion process for these great families! I love in the distric videos we watch, when German is invited to be baptized. He says, ¨Im willing, and I accept!¨That´s how it went with Jesus. It was so sweet. He has such great questions and knows these things are true! He said the day after he prayed, his day just went really good, and he feels like that was his answer. He is going to be a great missionary one day! :)

Recently I´ve been reading entries from my journal in the mtc! ha it is so great, I really have grown so much and what I thought was hard back then, well really isn´t at all. I was also reading when I got set apart, and the advice President Prier gave me to laser focus in on part member families. I have really seen how I have been able to do this throughout the mission, and right now especially! Completeing families is just as important as finding and baptizing them! So that is what we will keep doing. 

We had a neat experience with Rosa! She is a less active member, who for one reason or antther has hardened her heart against the chruch. We went with the spirit, and have tried about 10 times to visit her without success, and well she received us! And what did we do, we just listened with love! That was what she needed. And well, we found out her reason for leaving the church wasnt what anyone thought it was at all, and through listening through the spirit we were able to find out more and know how to help her! I´m so thankful for the guidance of the spirit! 

So that´s whats going on with me. October really flew by! The other night when I was pondering before prayer, I was reminded of a fun memory! I remembered how with Nate we would make animation videos out of play dough! I remember how once we made this really awesome video. With animals and everything and it was just really cool. We would press play, then pause fast, and then move the play dough a little. Then keep going until when you watch it, it looks like it is moving all by itself. Well, taht once was really sad, because whne we were all done and ready to watch it, nothing came up!! what happened??? we hadnt pushed down the button long enough to let it record anything! So instead of having an awesome video to watch, we had nothing. I thought about how life is kind of like that. Sometimes we ahve days we dont push down the putton for long enough. And then when we get to the end, we miss everything! That´s why its so important to live in today. not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today! because today is the day we choose to make memories that will last for eternity. So I hope all yall including me can keep pushing down the button for enough time to really see what matters most adn to make memories that will last for forever. :)

Bueno. Espero que todavía puedan entender mi ingles. jaja. Estoy tan agradecida por el evangelio de Jesucristo y por mi llamamiento como misionera. Me encanta que dice en Doctrinas y convenios 33¨:6´-12. He ayunado y orado para llegar a ser una misionera así! Espero que todos puedan esforzar aún más a compartir sus testimonies con todos! Yo sé que Cristo vive, y que este es la iglesia verdadera. No tengo ninguna duda de mi corazón! Los amo mucho! Juntos podemos hacer cualquier cosa si confiamos en nuestro Salvador. Venga lo que venga, disfrútalo! 

I love yall tons!

Hermana Garlick

We Can Take the Heat!

Mi familia!

It has been another great week! I love serving here in Talara, tierra del oro negro. :) My area or companion may not have changed, but there have been other changes! We rearranged our whole room, so that was fun, I felt like you makell. :) Its also getting hot again! But Im prepared and ready to drink lots of water. afterall doing gymnastics in the old non-AC gym on longmire sure helped me get prepared for this .:) Also, hna Meisel is the hna leader this transfer here in talara! Im so thnakful for this time I had to serve and am so happy for hna meisel, shes so great. She is also training too! A new sister from ecuador! 

Things re moving along here in Talara! We are doing divisions with the sisters  from both branches to help them do their visiting teaching! It´s helping lots to get them out there and get them motivated. I shared in relief society about the example of you mom, in going to Snook and never missing your visits. I sure hope it could help motivate them, because it sure motivates me. :) 

Sunday la familia olaya came to church!!! for the first time all together. Ana, is member, and her husband is reynaldo, and he isnt! but they still are not married but are working on that. Reynaldo asked so many questions in the classes and I am so thankful for this miracle that they came! after 4 months, they came! we were so happy. :) 

This week was carlos zapatas´s birthday! we bought him a doña pepa and sang to him. its a dessert they eat here in october! its good. 

Well, ready for another great week! Im so thankful to be a servant of the Lord. Find new ways each day to share the light of Christ! I know each one of us are needed. 

love yall soo much!

love

hna Garlick

Elder Grow comes to Peru!

The Joy just keeps getting Greater and Greater!

MI FAMILIA!!!!!

Im here to stay!! I´ll be here in Talara for my last transfer(6 weeks) of the mission! And with Hermana Macías. I am so excited and know there is more the Lord needs me to learn and do here in Talara alta and Bello horizonte. I love when Ammon tells king Lamoni he is there to serve, perhaps until the day he dies. Well thats what I said when I got to Talara, and well, its true! :) (dying meaning ending the mission.:) Im excited to see what other miracles the Lord is going to let me be a part of. 

I got the greatest news last monday. Hermana Rosas (my trainer) emailed me, and told me that la familia Bayona Benites from paita, got sealed in the temple, in ecuador! I couldnt hold back the tears as I read that! It was incredible being part of their baptism, but hearing that they are now eternally sealed together, Olga, bernabe, gustavo, jhairo, solay, diego, y elsa, for the eternities, just made my joy so much greater! I am so thankful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and know it is true. I know that families can be together forever! I cant wait for the temple in Trujillo to be finished next year! So many more people will be able to go to the temple! It will only cost 30 soles, and take 3 or 4 hours! mas o menos 10 dollars. what a blessing! The work of salvation is hastening! 

This are going well here in Talara. Some members have started going through different trials and problems, and i know that satan is trying to tear apart these families. We are praying hard, and doing all we can to be instruments in teh hands of God to help all these sweet members and people here in talara! Keep them in your prayers. 

We had an incredible experience with Elder Grow! He came to our mission again and I was able to feel the spirit so strong. He taught us through his heart and the spirit, and said some things that really were able to touch my heart. I know Jesus Christ is who leads the is work, no one else, and that we are to do all we can to do it how he needs it to be done. We are making changes and increasing in faith as we keep inviting others to come to Christ!

I love going out with Rosa Manrique, she is a member who is so faithful. She said, ¨dont waste your time in your youth, the time goes fast.¨Welll,rosa, we are not wasting time! We need to do all we can all day and the Lord will raise us up higher. Love yall lots. here is an inspired poem i wrote from pres uchdorfs talk.

If i want it, get it

If I have it, share it,

If I believe it, be it

If I am it, love it!

Love yall lots and lots and lots.

havea  great week!

love

hna Garlick

ps dont send packages, they are all getting stuck in lima! but they said letters should still get all the way up here to piura. :)

ps we had a show de talentos and I played the piano for the elders playing the guitar, armies of helaman! it was great!

"God is at the helm and will stay there." Elder Ballard

Mi querida familia!

So great to hear from you all! family sure is the greatest, you all make me smile, especially little jake´s big smile with teeth now! It sure has been a good week. and here´s why!

First, it is rainy! that makes me so happy. well its just a drizzle in the mornings and evenings, but still it fun! its also cold and windy in the nights, good thing i have a good scarf from an investigator elsa, and that forever 21 wind jacket. :)

Also, José Bolo won the elections here in Talara! He was who we were rooting for. :) haha It was so weird not having church last sunday. I am so thankful for church! Yesterday was so incredible listening to General Conference!!! I learned so much and received so many answers. I loved what ELder Anderson said about sharing a scripture that you know is absolutely true. So i thought id send one that I studied this morning! it was in 2 Nephi 31 :20. I love how it talks about how we can endure to the end in our lives in order to gain eternal life!  I was pondering the phrase, word of christ. in chapter 32, it is plural and says words. That made me think, if christ had one word, what would it be? My mind went to grace. His divine means of help or strength through his love and atonement is who chirst is! So if we apply his grace each day, we can gain eternal life. I know that Christ lives and his grace is real! and its there for all who come unto him! so lets come unto christ each day in small and simple ways. 

This week I got to go on an exchange with Hermana Hood from Alpine, who knows the reneers, so thats fun! She is SO GREAT. Her laugh is so contagious, and is a living light of the gospel. Our appointments fell through, but as we were talking to the people the spirit guided us too, we found 2 new investigators! I know that God is incharge, hes at the helm and will guide us safely home. :)

Gloria, is doing well! Shes reading her book of mormon and praying, and has such good questions. I love questions because they open the door for revelation and answers. Im excited to see how things go this week and what new investigators we find! 

Well we got to run! Its the last week of the transfer, so next monday who knows if Ill be here in talara for my last transfer here in peru or not! but either way, i am so excited to keep serving the Lord, wherever I am! 

Love yall so so so much! más que arroz con pollo.

love,

Hermana Garlick

Multi Zone Conference!

Life is Like a Litter of Kittens, Ya Never Know What You're Going to Get.

MY FAMILY,

What a week! first off happy birthday jared!! sweet 16! keep both hands on the wheel. :) hope you get your card one day!

This week I got to do a work visit with Hna Meisel! A super cute missionary from California. She is so great, and talks with so much love and sincerly. She really taught me to think more in the way I say things, to help them have more meaning. We were teaching Carlos, our recent convert in julio, about repentance and perdón, and she testified so simply and powerfully, and with so much love! Amor really is something inward that you can see outwardly in people. So Im thankful for her in helping me make this a new goal. :) Christ is the ultimo ejemplo de amor, so lets try to be more like him!

sorry for so much spanglish. my mind is like that right now.

So this week we went out back to our bathroom, and in a part of dirt in a little hole, was a cat, feeding her 5 kittens she had given birth too! It was so cute! we let them stay there but when we went back after studying, they were all gone! she had moved them inside the back of our washer outside! haha Hna macias put them in a box, but when we got back at night they were all gone too. Earlier this week I was starting to get annoyed at his cat because it was always out back. But it was just trying to find a safe place to have her babies! So next time you try to judge someone or a cat, dont do it, because we just dont know. 

We keep asking at the end of each lesson if there was anyone tha they know that we can teach. well we hadnt been having much success with this, but we kept doing it becuase pmg and presidente rowley keep saying we should! well finally wilmer, gave us a name, and that led us to 2 new invetigators, and then they led us to another! so being obedient works. when we are commanded to do something, just do it, because we WILL be blessed

i love the hymn we are all enlisted. it sure got me pumped up and comforted this week. Love the hymns! follow nates example and listen to them every day. :)

love yall have such a great week!!
love your sister in peru

hna Garlick

"La obediencia es vivir el evangelio con gozo." -Pres. Uchtdorf

My dear family!!!

I sure have lots to tell yall this week! Hope I can type fast enough and that the keyboard keeps up this week. :) Super busy and super blessed. Here we go..

First off, for exchanges! I forgot to write about last week too. Last week I got to be with Hermana Hualinga for a day! I sure have learned lots from this sister, and I keep learning more. The greatest thing I have learned is charity and love. When we have that, we can be happy, when we dont, well we are not. It was great seeing her progress and the missionary she is becoming. I loved in the womens conference the talk by persidnet uchtdorf about obedience. I was thinking a lot about what he said, how obedience is to joyfully live the gospel. The purpose of life is to have joy, 2 nefi 2:25, and to have true joy that means we need to be obedient. So really the purpose of life is to live the gospel happily, and when we are able to do that we can find even more joy and happiness than ever before.

 And then for this week I got to have a work visit with Hermana Castro!! I remember the first exchange with her, it was the 2nd week of her mission. She has learned so much and is so great at making contacts in the street. We had such a great expereince teaching an investigator, Siliva. She is catholic, but really wants to know if this church is true. Hna Castro pulled out a book of mormon, to give her, and explained how it is thorugh reading and praying about this book you can know if the church is true and if joseph smith is a profeta. Silivia is about 50 years old and is so cute. And when she saw that we were giving her a libro de mormon, she through her arms up and shouted with joy!!! hahah she said it was an answer to her prayers, and that she was wanting one of those! It made us all laugh so hard, and it is the happiest i have ever seen anyone receive a book of mormon. I will remember that moment forever, and every time i read this book i will try t have that same excitement, because its true!

Our mulit-zone conference was so so great! All about learning to trust in and follow the spirit, because this is the Lords work! President Rowley is so inspired and full of this spirit, when you talk to him he transmits the spierit of the lord through his eyes. I want to strive to have that same spirit too. Giving my last testimony made everything just sink in a little bit, that my time as a full time missionary is getting clsoe to its end! I am so thankful for the testimony of this gospel, and how in this past 15 months I have been able to add to it each day. I know that Christ lives and loves me, and that´s why Im here and keep serving, because everyone needs and deserves to feel this love too! My faith has been strengthened so much, especailly through the experiences of others. Like hna Macias for example. She is a convert of 2 years, and is so powerful! Her dad died when she was 11, and she transmits happiness and truth to everyone, because she knows its true. Also, Zuly, an investigator, shared some life experiences of how she was able to develop faith in God, and through this time with the passing of her mom. I am so thankful for these incredible examples of faith. 

Things are progressing here! We now have a mission leader in both branches, and our branch councils have been going so much better. We are getting more organized too, teaching in the different branches all of different days, and are being more efficient with always having members too. 

So eleccions for all of peru are this saturday and sunday!! There is a law that all churches are closed. So....we wont be having church, and we wont be seeing Gerneral conference! yeah, i know! But we will be seeing it the 11th and 12th. So please dont give everything away in your emails this week.:) 

Other news is that serpost, the post office wehre teh mail comes into piura, is on strike!! so we cant receive any letters or packages. Until this ends. So jsut keep the emails coming, and maybe one day ill get the letters. : ) thanks for seding htem anyways! 

love yall lots! have a wonderful week and let your light shine through, because la verdad brilla! :)

love 

Hermana Garlick

Happy Birthday Hermana Garlick!

There are no real endings, only everlasting beginnings!

Hola Familia,

Wow, what a week. Thanks so much for your prayers, they sure are boosting me along. We had a great experience in the week with fasting, and knocking into the door of Nely, a less active member that recently moved here! Prayer really works.

Hna Macías is the best! she is from augas calientes. She teaches the doctrine with so much power. we have lots of fun together, reminds me of being with you jess and kell :) 

Grandma Marlene´s funeral sounds like it was so incredible and spiritual. I sure want to hear that song yall sang that you wrote Nate! We also had an investigator, Zuly, loose her mom this week. We were there for her, and bore testimony of the plan of salvation, and of the power and peace of prayer. Being far I have sure been able to feel peace through prayer. I know we are all part of a great plan of happiness, and I am so thankful Grandma M was part of our plan of happiness. I love how this life is not really an end, its really the start! like president uchtdorf said. She is just starting the next part of the journey, that we are all on.

Music and the spoken word also sounded super great. Thanks for the pictures! :) Music really has power. 

I love studying the scriptures and preach my gospel for an hour each morning. I love the part in pmg where it says, that the best way to help the people is to teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that. We may think doing other things can help people, but helping them increase in knowledge of the gospel of jesus christ is how they can hop on the path to eternal life. and that's kind of important. 

Sure love y'all lots! I have my last multi zone conference this week. What?! Come what may and love it!

love

Hermana Garlick

ANDALE!!

Hola Familia!!

It sure has been fun being companions with mi compañera mejicana Herman Macías. :) She is super outgoing and fun and we have already been able to see miracles with less active members taht were able to come to church. The key is to love and to serve. 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! :) It has been a great day. We made a cake, and then went to a mexican restaurant we found here with the other 4 sister missionaries in talara. Look it up on facebook orale talara. maybe there are coupons. haha

We have a new rule in the mission, we cant let a couple pass by without talking to them! It has been fun this week, we talked with 16 couples, some of them we had to chase a little, but we are setting the goal to do even more this week! It is so great talking to everyone about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love in Helanaman 5 how nefi and lehi werent burned in the fire. Sometimes in life, fire comes, but if we trust in the lord, it wont burn us. 

Love yall so much, so sorry this is so short. I sure have the best family ever! Keep going and I know everything will work out. Love what may!

love,

Hermana Garlick

Let's Go and Do, Not Sit and Stew!

Dearest family!!

Lots of great news and great things happening!! It was a wonderful and full week too. :)

Where to start? Last week with Hermana Villena. The time with her was sure sweet! She will always be a great friend. another crazy fast 6 weeks. And onto the next here in Talara with Hermana Macias!!! :) with accent on the i but I cant figure out how to do that on this keyboard. :) She is from MEXICOOO!! And is super fun and outgoing and ready to work! Hermana Gutierrez trained her the same time I trained hna Gozan! And President Rowely changed some things. Now, just Im a sister leader, not my companion! And we wont be traveling to Tumbes. So we will visit the 2 other companionships of sisters here in Talara, and we will do 2 intercambios with each of them so that I will be with each of them once! Its super different and interesting, but I know it is through revelation that president made these changes. Im excited to keep serving and keep going and doing! I love the attitude of Nefi in nefi  capitulo 3. He really didnt know why or how he was going to keep the commandments of God, but he knew hed prepare away, so he just did it! So Im ready to do what the Lord commands. 

We had leader council this week, and once again it was incredible. President talked a lot about the need for increased emphasis in family history, and the need to help all we are teaching make accounts and get going on this! So we are doing it. Also we talked a lot about the importance of weekly planning and daily planning. I loved before the mission listening to mom and dad sunday night plan their week out. Being united in a plan and then fulfilling the plan during the week to accomplish our goals really is how we can see miracles and progress. So we are working on that too--improving our planning sessions and making sure that every act during the week helps us accomplish these plans and goals using every minute wisely. 

We had a sweet experience Sunday. We always make a plan in the morning before church at 8, and then again at 10 for the other branch, to go and pick up investigators or less active members. Well, for some reason I felt we should go to pick up a second counselor of talara alta. Well, we did, and actually woke him up! His whole family came to church with us. Later in consejo de rama, he shared how thanks to the sisters, he was at church, how he had worked all night and slept in his church close, and our knock got him and his fam up. I know that as we fast and pray the spirit can really guide us to do what we need to do. 

Way to go Jared in getting your eagle scout!! loved seeing all those pictures and am so blessed to have such incredible examples in my life. My brothers are the best. 

I love here how there are little stores everywhere! LIke every 5 houses has a store with all your basic needs. What we need is always close by! Im going to start a store in our front porch too. 

Love yall tons!! have a wonderful week, and I will too with my new companion!!! Go and do!!!

Love 

Hermana Garlick

"Heavenly Father trusts those with the truth who wil share it." -Pres. Uchtdorf

Mi Querida Familia!!!

So I just had a panic attack and thought I had five minutes left, but just realized that I reeally have 30! haha So sorry for the super rushed replies to your emails. haha  I love running to buy fruit from the market each monday morning! and then I run back with it all in both arms. its a great work out jared and dallin, yall should run to HEB for mom before seminary, and you will save gas too!

It was SUCH a great week! Seriously! I say that every week, but this week really was. Here is why:

First off, we laughed lots. The first reason was because I had a dream that I looked at our cellphone, and the background was changed to a picture of Grandma Garlick with another grandma, and they had on extra large fake noses! That sure made me wake up laughing. The other was that we thought the power went out in our room since the light didnt turn on where the door is, and our house is super long and dark. So i had to run in screaming until the kitchen to turn the light on. It was super funny. We laughed so hard. Our neighbor thinks we are crazy I think. But then we sing hymns and its all good again. :)

This week we got to teach seminary three times!! It was so great. I loved it. We were able to tie in the missionary lessons into these chapters in the book of mormon. It was incredible, as we were teaching, memories were flooding back from everything I learned in seminary. Im so thankful for all my teachers and all they taught me. I dont know how many times i said, when I was in seminary, my teacher taught me... or something like that. I know those years in young womens is such important preparation time for life. So everyone go to seminary! Its the best! Maybe I will be a teacher one day. That would be really fun. 

I had the opporuntity to serve with Hna Cisneros this week! She and Hna Garner traveled from Tumbes to be with us! So we were all four together, except for when we went out to teach. Hna Cineros is from ecuador and so sincere and selfless. The members that visited with us felt so loved, she asked ALL about them and was such a great example to me of forgetting yourself. All of our appointments might have fallen through, but we were able to be led to two other families who want to receive our message! It was incredible this day, because hna Villena and I decided to fast. Fasting really works. I felt an added strenght, power, help, and guide to teach, talk, and remember all I needed too. Hna Villena told me the same happened with her. Fasting and prayer are like a piano, you have the white keys and teh black ones. With just the white keys or prayer, you can make some beautiful music, and see blessings, but with the black keys, or fasting, you can see miracles and an added level of beauty to the song. 

There was a Funeral this week, and I of course played the piano like I do for everything. I was thankful for this opportunity. I love to share my testimony through music. I still remember when nate helped me at byu prepare to play my piano solo my last sunday in my ward there. You told me, dont play the notes, play what they mean. Well thats what I always do now, and I love it. It may just be the basic hymns in the hymn book, but I feel the spirit each time as I play as I play what I know is true. In the funeral, surprise, a dog ran in! Its like my fourth time with a dog in the chapel on my mission. And it is one of the dogs here that doesnt have fur. Everyone calls them feo, or ugly, because its true. They are called viringos. And I was talking to a member afterwards, and they explained to me about them. They are considered holy! They suck away any sickness, or sadness, or problem that we have, and take that upon them themselves. Wow, when I heard that I just was in aw. Thats why elderly people have them, and why they let it enter in there. In a way, they are like Jesus Christ. He took upon himself every sickness, problem, and sin that we have had or will have. Im so thankful for the atonement. And Im just a little more thankful for these dogs now. Look what understanding does!

Sundays are always the best. playing prelude the kids come up and want to play too. This week instead of wispering to them to go sit down, I took their fingers one by one and play the hymn with the right hand and do the left hand jared taught me that works with any hymn. :) they love it! great news at church too, we got a mission leader en la rama talara altar! Gustavo! woohoo! We are excited to get working with him. 

Then comes the miracle! zuly was walking down the street, and stopped us, with all her laundry falling out of her arms. She said she listened to all the lessons from the sisters in talara baja, and is reading in 2 nefi 20, and went to church lots of times, and wants to be baptized!! the reference never got passed after she moved, but Heavenly Father made sure we were in teh exact right spot at the exact right time to be able to meet her!! she has 6 kids and is separated from her husband. God really is a god of miracles!

The atonement carries me every day, it carries all of us! I am so thankful for Christ, and for the sacred responsibility heavenly father has entrusted with me-preaching the restored gospel of jesus christ. He has trusted all of us with something so precious, the truth! And he has done that because he knows that we will share it. So lets just do it. It doesnt matter how simple the effort is, each day we can shine the light of the truth to all! So go for it! and we will stick it.

Ready for another great week! last one of the transfer, and last one with hna Villena before she goes home! Next week Ill be writing with my new companion! so crazy. Ready for the best week of our lives.:)

Los amo muchooo

Hermana Garlick

Talara!! August 2014

Think before you pray, then think to pray, then afteryou pray , think again:)

Hi family!

I hope yall got all the pics! It sure has been another great week! Full of miracles and learning and working and traveling. I love all of it! Im reading in Alma right now. I loved the verse in alma 42:1, and how Alma just couldn´t rest! That´s how I feel. There is just so much to do! Work now, sleep later like dad told me. :) We need to keep moving!

Highlight of the week was definitly going to Tumbes! I was in Puyango, with Hermana Gozán, and Hermana Ziegner, who she is training! (so she is my grandaughter in the mission:) :) It was so great! I loved seeing just how much hna Gozan has grown and improved. She is such a powerful missionary. We were in a lesson with Carmen, an investigator. When she invited her to be baptized, the spirit was so strong. She teaches so boldly and powerfully. She is also a really great companion for Hna Ziegner, and helping her with Spanish! I totally remember my 4 week mark and being so frustrated and just wanting to be able to speak! Hna Ziegner is doing so well, is working so hard, and is able to talk really well! They are seeing miracles in puyango, and havnet had baptisms there fora  while, but recently have had 2! The lord has his timing. 

Miracle of the week was having Diesi AND shirly come to church this week! They are 2 less active members that we have been teaching, and always say they will come, but never do. Well this week was different. We left to visit with Deisy, and helped her feel more loved and needed! And with shirly we really listened to her in the lesson, and because of some hard things in her life, she was crying pretty hard. We got up and hugged her really big. Really its the small and simple things that can change someones heart. 

Ive been reading my patriarchal blessing every day, and its so neat! I used to once a month, or once a week, but every day as we eat breakfast, it really has been a blessing to have this blessing more on my mind. It changes my attitude and behavior, and has helped me improve my prayers too. I love in preach my gospel how it talks about the importance of personal revelation, and in preparing for and meditating after prayer. It really has a greater impact when we do it like that! 

Well IUve got 45 seconds to go, oops! love you all! dad have a super happy birthday tomorrow!!! hip hip hurray!!! :) 

with lots and lots of love,

Hnaita Garlick

"Don't Prepare the Talk. Prepare to Give the Talk." President Packer

Hola Hola familia!

Just got back from Negritos where we played bowling and walked on the beach! Im so thankful for relaxing pdays! :) The bowling was so great. all by hand, people in the back that came out each time to set up the pins! :) so fun. Hermana Villena´s health also is all better so that makes us both happy! And Joel, Zahina´s husband bought us colored marshmallows for dessert after our lunch and it reminded me of going to Great grandma burtons house! :) They were surprised that I actually got to know my great grandnparents. It is such a blessing, Im so thankful for family and to be reminded of all yall always! :)

We had interviews with Presidente Rowley this week!!! I love those! I feel the spirit so strong and such a peace and at home feeling when I talk to presidente y hermana Rowley. I asked him how he dealt with all his stress as a mission president (by the way ive gotten a lot better at switching to english now! only a few words I mix up...:) Well he told me he finally learned that this is the Lord´s work, not his! We have to do all we can to be instruments in the hands of the Lord, nothing else! We cant do everything, and we cant do it in his way. we have to do our part with all our heart, relying on him, because he´s in charge! Relying on the spirit is something I have definitely gotten better at, but I know I still have a long way to go. He told me the quote I put for the subject line, ¨dont prepare the talk, Prepare to give the talk.¨ by president Packer. (or something along those lines. Ive been pondering that a lot this week!  Yes we need to prepare, we need to know the doctrine, we need to have a plan--but most importantly we need to be prepared spiritually to say what the Lord needs us to say, to do what he needs us to do, and to act as he needs us to act. This is the Lord´s work! So there really is no need to fret. Im so thankful to be his servant in this time! And its going way too fast! I still remember quite vividly the night president prior placed his hands on my head and by the power of the priesthood set me apart as a missoniary. I remember feeling like a like switch literally went off in me. I wasnt too sure what that was then, but now I understand a lot better what that light switch was. Im so tahnkful to be a set apart servant of the Lord. It is such a blessing to serve him as I serve others. I know I cant do everything, but through him I can do everything he needs to get done. 

This week I had the opportunity to do an exchange with Hermana Giles!! It was so wonderful, she is such a spiritual missionary and teaches powerfully from the scriptures. We were teaching Deisy, (less active member) and had questions about the resurrection. Hna Giles flipped right open to Alma 11 and was able to explain so clearly and powerfully and helped answer Deisy´s questions. She ends her mission in 2 weeks with Hermana Villena too! And she is finishing so strong!! I love her and am so thankful for her example. This week we will be traveling to Tumbes for exchanges so we are getting excited for that! 

So all our investigators with baptismal dates have fallen through. But we are not discouraged, because Presidente said we are here to establish the kingdom of God, and well that is what we are doing! We taught Mary and Freddy this week. Mary talked with her sister whos Evangelica, and well now she doesnt want to read the book of mormon, because it says in the bible that you shouldnt add too it, and she doesnt believe it is possible that there can be more scripture. We shared scriptures from the bible and the book of mormon to resolve her concerns. Her husband said he is willing to read and pray to know if its true, but mary still says that she needs to think about it. We shared our testimonies. This is always my favorite part, because no one can deny what we know for ourselves. I love the quote from an apostle that says ¨Its true isn´t it? than what else matters?¨ People can argue that the book of mormon isnt true all day, but I know it is because ive read it, prayed about it, and it has changed my life! I know it can change anyones life that will do the same. So we are hoping and praying she will read teh book that holds it all together. :)

We had conferencía de distrito this week! And our branches of course were incharge of the choir. It turned out great, we had so many participate, including lots of our conversos recientes!! :) And its crazy, now I dont get the least bit nervous to play the piano! Good bye 14 yr old shaking hands at the ward talent show. (thanks mom for helping me know where to start..ahaha) I loved how the theme was la obra de salvación! Afterall, its the work of all of us! He needs all of us! 

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER DEAR this saturday!!! I hope someone makes your bed and you have the most splendid day! Mama mía estoy tan agradecida por ti y por todo lo que haces para mí! Espero que tengás una maravillosa semana! :)

This week we found Juana, she is 85 and when we got in she called her sobrina over and said, ¨come here, these girls are here to help put our lives in order!¨:) haha it made me smile. We are all here to put our lives in order each day, no? That´s what the gospel of Jesus Christ does. 

Have a WUNDERBAR week! :) venga lo que venga, disfrútalo! :)

love

Hermana Garlick