It's not cold, yet

The weather is still pretty hot here! I am sweating a lot.  I will probably be buying a winter jacket and boots in a month or so. I didn't know Nakhodka meant “Lucky Find”! That is pretty sweet.  


We never have dinner appointments so we are always cooking for ourselves! I am so grateful you taught us how to cook every Sunday.  They were talking to us about how we should have been preparing for our Missions for a long time before our missions and I thought well, I can't really think of anything I did to prepare. They then talked about the value of hard work and I thought of course!  I learned that.  We shouldn't be lazy? They then talked about being able to cook for ourselves and clean our apartments. I thought, I have always been cleaning! They talked about how we should have not been spending excess amounts of time on the computer or video games, and these are all the things you have been telling us from day one! I am so glad you gave us such high standards.  It makes this all so much easier.


The New Orleans experience sounds great! I hope to be able to go there some day.  


Thanks for thinking about sending me a care package.  If possible, could I have some Ramen?  I can't really think of anything else :)  I trust your judgment (Dang, I can't remember how to spell judgment, I hope that is correct!).


So in three weeks, our Branch President is leaving. He is like the Bishop but the ward is only like 15 people. They are all really good people but I am afraid that when lose this big source of power in the branch then we will lose some really good people. We need to inspire them and rally the troops so that when our leader is gone we can still stay strong!


Yeah those were eggs in a plastic bag! They don’t use cartons for their eggs :) And no that was not powdered milk in a bag - it was regular milk! Totally normal milk in a bag.  Crazy, huh?  


We only have 2 elders in our apartment. (I cannot for the life of me remember how to spell apartment....)  In our Nakhodka area there are 4 elders and 2 sisters.


I am currently sitting in a little office building thingy, 4 floors up, I have weird Russians sitting around me and when they talk I have no clue what they are saying.... It’s okay maybe they are talking about me... I will just type about them and they won’t know what I am saying either!  We sit here and email for an hour or so then we go back out and talk to people! Maybe I will play Ping-Pong later.  I will send some pictures in an hour or so from our church computer. I can also see the ocean from where I am sitting and I see a bunch of boats.  It makes me miss going SCUBA diving.


In regards to e-mail messages home we are allowed to tell you first names but no pictures of Russian people and no last names.   


I bought a leather satchel, it’s pretty manly! I also took some money out to buy pizzas for Priesthood session of Conference but ended up not using it.  I can’t wait to go see "Meet the Mormons" It looks so fun! 


I have tripped like 20 times this week. In Russia, they have a lot of cobblestone sidewalks that are hard to walk on.  A couple times I was walking past someone who was sitting on a bench or something, I would start to say hello in Russian and then I would step off the edge of the sidewalk and my hello would get mixed in with an "Aaaggghh" So I would end up saying something like "Straaagjlsszxn"... which actually isn't Russian... It sounds kinda like it but it’s just stupid :)


We were led a couple times during the week by the spirit. We made a plan on Monday or to find a man we didn’t know. His name was Владимир. So we headed on out, talking to everyone we met.  Then we met a big muscled guy just as he was walking into a store.  He is probably 30 years old. He stopped in the doorway and started talking to us. He seemed very interested in our English Gospel discussions. He said he will be there and guess what his name was.... Владимир! We also got his number, but didn't have time to teach a lesson yet. I think it is so cool how it always works out that way.


Another time, just 2 days ago, we were heading back from the Priesthood Session of Conference. We were looking for a number 9 bus to take us home. We didn't see that one but bus number 5 came up. We got on the 5 but before paying we saw a number 9 in the distance. We hopped off quickly and get on the number 9 bus. When we get on the bus we handed our money to the conductor lady.  Then, she handed Elder Sayers a notebook.  It was his notebook, he had left it on the bus earlier that day. It was great how that worked out and didn't stay on the number 5:)


I am loving Russia! Slowly but surely understanding more and more :) Wish me luck! The Church is true and I Love You!


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Elder Gardner

 

 

First Week in Nakhodka

Hey family! How are you all doing?? Russia is fun.  I really like it!  I hardly understand a word of what is being said but it is such a blast! Down here in Nakhodka, it is pretty warm. I always leave the house with a jacket in the mornings but I take it off pretty quickly.   Russia is pretty normal, hate to say it. I expected it to be a lot more.... I dont know..... Russian. It is a ton of fun though:)

More Russian than this?

Looks like they need a can opener.

Or this?

 

We were told this last week that no more Ipods are allowed and no flash drives either. MoTab CDs are allowed so a couple of those would be fabulous if you could find them.   My companion is awesome! He speaks Russian super well! Some people say they can't even tell that he is from Oklahoma. We have had a hectic week, carrying my bags around for 3 days before we finally got to Nakhodka.  We almost missed our train, but it wasn't that close. We had like 30 seconds to spare before it pulled away.

Getting Elder Alward and Gardner settled in Nakhodka

Plenty of times I see guys shouting at us and I say to my companion "Hey that guy is super interested we've gotta turn around and talk to him!" My companion just says "No Elder Gardner, don't turn around, he is drunk!" Dang it! The drunk people are always the happiest to see us!  I need a couple of new "Pick-up Lines" so-to-speak. One of them is "Hey have you seen us before?" or maybe on a bus I will open up my Book of Mormon and ask the lady next to me how to pronounce a couple of words from the book:) I don't know! Help me out here:)

A Kitty Friend

I believe we were led a couple of times this week by the spirit. We had set up an appointment with an investigator named Костя. We went over to his home, but he was not home. We headed back out and I turned to Elder Sayers. I told him "Hey, there is a reason we are supposed to be here. There is a reason we planned to meet Костя and the plans fell through. Keep your eyes open Elder!" Earlier that morning we had this idea, "Let's plan on meeting a Владимир today."  So as we were walking back from our fallen through appointment, we stop to talk to this man. We introduce ourselves and he doesn't immediately tell us to go away.  We ask him his name.... Владимир. Way cool! We tell him we can help him quit smoking if he wants, we can teach him about our church and he seems kind of interested but he had to go. We will see if he shows up to church, I don't know.  I hope so!

Looks like Ryan is having a great time!

Another experience:  we had to fill out some quarterly report. Both Elder companionships were at the church so we could work on the report. Elder Alward and I both just got to Nakhodka this week so we didn't know any of the information they needed. We decided it would be a better use of our time to go out and talk to people instead of just sitting around. So Elder Alward and I head out to the street and we didn't really know where we were going, just walking. We tried talking to probably 20 people with no success. Right after that, we saw a guy walking towards us with the biggest smile on his face. We stopped to talk to him and he said he has met the missionaries before. He reads the Bible every day and would love to read our book and to know more. We invited him back to the Church building to show him around and he loved it. He was looking at the big painting of Jesus for 5 minutes. We then asked if he had some time, and he did, so we taught him the first lesson:) He said during the lesson that he quit smoking a while ago, he doesn't drink tea or coffee or anything like that because he knows it is bad. He was totally being prepared before we got there. We just had to tell him the information and he was already relating it back to the Bible and he accepted it all! We set a Baptismal date for 3 or 4 weeks from now. It was a really awesome experience. If we would have been a minute earlier, a minute later, on a different street, or not even out there at all, we would have missed the great opportunity to teach the gospel! I am so happy I got to be a part of that.
I am having an amazing time! I haven't gotten nervous yet... yet! Haha wish me luck!  Even in Russia the Church is true and I Love You.

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Elder Gardner

I Made it!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014:  I made it safely:) I am good, super tired! We didn't have September 30. Tonight we are sleeping in the Mission Home with the president, they are super nice:) I am first serving in Nahodka. Should be a blast! I am happy, warm and loving it here. I LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Gardner

Last P-Day

Last Preparation day! Wow.  That is such a weird thought.  I am so pumped to go and do things.  I wanna talk to everybody. The people that I meet will probably be the best part.  I cannot wait! 

In answer to your question, no I am not worried – I think I am ready. With the Lord's help we can do literally anything good.  Like it says in 1 Nephi 3:7  “I will go and do the things the Lord has commanded.”  He gives no commandments and requires nothing of us unless he will prepare a way for us to do that thing. Some people might be worried about going to Russia, where will I go? What will I say? How will I know what to do when I get there? But, I am not worried.  We will be helped! Like the hymn How Firm a Foundation says, “Fear not, I am with thee oh be not dismayed. For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll STRENGTHEN thee, HELP thee, and cause thee to STAND" We have nothing to fear! We are on the Lord's errand and he will be with us and help us to bring this happy message to the people who need it most. 

Sign on our wall

 

That missionary plaque looks great!  I am so cute – ha ha. However, I think the scriptures might be upside down... is that the tassel that hangs out the bottom of the scriptures?  Pink eye wasn’t fun but the good news is I didn't infect anybody else so I will count that as a success. 

I sang in church on Sunday and it was great! I recorded the practices but they are too big to send over e-mail. You are going to have to wait a couple years to enjoy :)   You are right that before my mission I just thought of singing in Church as a way to get me to quit being a lazy bum.  Now I see it as an opportunity to share a testimony through song. Saying your testimony once a month is great, but singing it is so much better! I feel much more confident now expressing the feelings of my heart, whereas before I was kind of stoic and didn't really get up too often. I am so thankful already for the chance to be a missionary! 

We got our travel plans on Friday.  On Monday we fly from Salt Lake to LAX and then we fly to Seoul, South Korea.  We are on the ground for a couple of hours and then we fly to Vladivostok. I believe it is about 30 hours of travel to get there.  If our math was correct, then it should be 26 hours or so in a plane. I was told 26 hours but I didn't do that math so it could be off by a little. I will attach a picture of the flight itinerary.  We fly out around 6:30 PM so I will try and call you from the airport a couple of hours before we leave.

Notice that we skip over Tuesday, Sept 30

 

We gave a 40 minute lesson to a Russian lady over Skype. We were teaching about faith and I got this idea about 10 minutes before our lesson to put 1 Nephi 3:7 in there. We never used that scripture before but I thought, "Hey that could be a good idea" so in it went. We are teaching this wonderful lady, and when I shared that scripture she gets a big smile on her face :) She got teary eyed and said she wanted to cry. She told us that we had just answered her question. I still do not know what her question was, but we were able to answer it. It was such a great experience. 

Elder Russel M. Ballard came and talked to us last night. He gave a great talk about setting goals, giving each day your best, and not kidding yourself at the end of the day. Each day we give all we can, get a good night’s sleep and do it again tomorrow. If we think too far into the future, it will get overwhelming. Just take it one day at a time.

This Church is true and I Love You,

Love,

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Elder Gardner

Ready to escape the MTC

Hey! Last week was a really boring week! Sorry for not saying much:(  I will have a ton of stuff to tell you in 2 weeks!  I had a cold for a couple days, and then I got Pink Eye!  WOOHOO!  It wasn't too fun, kinda icky. But I got to leave campus to go to the pharmacy.   I got some eye drops and all is well now.  But because of my cold, I had a bad cough and couldn't sing in church.  It is alright and I will sing this upcoming week.  I am learning here but I would learn so much more if I could just escape the MTC. 

 

We should get travel information this upcoming Friday!   We have 12 days till we fly out! Monday the 29th!  We are definitely counting down the days. We are missing conference by a week.  It is quite a shame.  It is rough being so close but so far and not really sure how this whole thing is gonna work! 

 

Steak Fries!  Double order.  :)

 

I don't know how effective I will be the first few months of my mission but I am sure it will all work out for the best.  I am eating as much of the MTC food as I can stand.  I wanna get a bit more fat because I probably will not want to eat much the first couple days of Russia.  That borsch looks like blood soup... gross..

On Monday we had a Skype call/lesson with a native Russian! It was an бабушка (older lady).  Her name is Elena:) She was very sweet but she talked quickly and I struggled to understand everything she said.  But, it was really cool. We are learning more and more grammar rules each day. Hopefully I can keep them all straight in my head.

We haven't gotten any rain here but I hope we can get some before we leave to the Motherland. 

Game: How full will your cup be when you flip it over.

 

I am glad to hear that you guys went to help the Catholic church. Oh man, you guys have a lot of rain! I am super jealous.  In all the time I went to DV I don't think they cancelled it once.   Now Cameron might get it twice! No fair.

How was riding the Ninja? Everything works fine? I wish I could go riding again.  I always hear motorcycles riding around and past the MTC. It makes me miss it.

That is so cool that Dad’s office made the switch to the cloud! How is that going? All smooth? Send my best wishes to the folks at the office haha I feel like I am almost part of the team! Hopefully one day I can be.

We had Richard G. Scott visit us last night! He spoke a lot about prayer. Way cool! But next Tuesday we are supposed to be getting a bigger guy coming to talk! Maybe Tommy M. I don't know. 

I saw Megan today in front of the Temple! I didn't know if I could hug her, so I didn't haha.

I am glad Megan sent you the video she took! I have the translation for that if you would like:)

"Hey there my family! How are you? My name is Elder Gardner and I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ. I know this Church is true. I know the temple is the most beautiful building. I love this weather, it is really good weather. I know when I pray to God, He listens to me. He knows me. He knows us all. He loves us. Like... A lot a lot. I love you all. I love you Mom and Dad and Cameron and Megan. I am a little silly but I know this church is true! I love you! Bye Bye".

I realize that my testimony jumps around quite a bit but it is alright:) I never know what to say when people say "Hey! Speak Russian at me" 

 

Me and my companion Elder Hansen.

I don't think I need anything before I leave for Russia. I have a bunch of food, but Ramen is always welcome:)  The only problem is I don't have a bowl or fork so that would also be required:)  Gummy bears are always wanted. There is one elder in our district who eats all my gummy bears! Not nice! But he speaks sign language so he is pretty cool:)  I can't really think of anything that I want but anything you think of is appreciated:)

The Church is true and I Love You,

удачи.

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Elder Gardner

Another great week

We had a great week!   We should be getting our travel plans this Friday. Somebody said we would be flying to Cali, then South Korea, then Vladivostok from there. I will let you know when I get the official papers.  No news on whether or not our Visas have come in.  Should be good! I don't know what to think just yet :)

 That rainy Monday sounds so crazy! I wish I could've driven the jeep through the mud! Would've been too much fun:)!! We had a ton of rain here yesterday, too, but not enough to flood the streets!  Lots of fun! It’s a nice change of pace from the AZ heat. I saw Cameron playing in the water on the news clip they sent me! That is too funny:) That is way sad to hear about the Catholic church that got flooded! Maybe there could be a service project to go help them out!

I am sure President Rogers is gonna do great as our new Stake President! I love him, he always gives out fist bumps! Sweet!

I’m excited that Chandler is putting his mission papers in.  I can’t wait to hear where he gets called!  That is way exciting.

Thanks for the care package.  I tried to hide them.  :)

 

That is so cool that you got your Advanced Diver Certification! I am so jealous. How were the wetsuits? I hope to never have to wear them again.  Sounds like a great experience though! I am glad you guys got the wonderful opportunity to dive in Lake Pleasant! It was anything BUT pleasant! haha Maybe when I get back we can get Megan and me certified in Australia! I wanna go there and dive the Great Barrier Reef. 

So last Wednesday, right after I got to dinner, I saw Elder Wimmer! I was talking to some guy going to China.  Then Elder Wimmer came up and started talking to the Chinese Elder. I looked away, looked back and saw “Wimmer” on his tag! I totally interrupted their conversation, I said "Hey! Hey! Elder Wimmer! My mom knows your mom!!" I was way pumped, all excited! I finally saw the infamous Elder Wimmer! He was totally confused, kinda like he could care less... haha this was so cool to me but he didn't even care.

I also ripped my pants! haha I was hackey-sackey-ing and went up to kick it... ripped right open in the crotch. Don't worry, I sewed it back up using the sewing kit from Mission Prep Class. Thanks Worthen Family!  

Not much has happened other than that! Still studying:)  I wish I had more to say.  Can't wait to get out there! Love you all so much! This Church is true,

 

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Elder Gardner

Halfway through the MTC!

Halfway through the MTC!  That is a weird thought.

I am now capable of saying most simple phrases necessary in here. I feel so old! The missionaries going to Italy next door to us got here 2 weeks after us and they are leaving before we do, it is interesting. 

 

We got the package with sparkling cider and we had a party.   Today is my roommate's birthday so we had a Вечеринка last night:)   (You say it like, Vecherinka. It means a party). He just turned 19 and he got a yoyo for his birthday. 

Party Time

 

The food the first couple of weeks seemed great! 3 square meals a day, as many helpings as you would like! But nowadays, I don't see it the same way. The food is definitely going downhill and I am starting to appreciate these care packages more and more! They are a life saver. I have gained like 10 pounds. But, I am up to 15 slow controlled pull-ups. Gotta keep going though. 

I love all your www.DearElder.com notes! They make my day:) Megan sent me a couple shirts, some candy and a bunch of silly notes from her friends. I can't really think of what I need right now but everything is welcome! I love you all! 

The District

 

I am actually enjoying the language! That might sound weird but I think it is fun:) I have had a bunch of people say to me "Elder Gardner, how do you know so much? I never see you studying!"  Now don't take that the wrong way! I do study, but I think they are just jealous because it is coming easier to me than them. I am so blessed to not struggle with it.  The language isn't all too hard. It makes a lot of sense once you get the basics down.

Russian has 6 cases. Nominative Case. Accusative Case. Genitive Case. Prepositional Case. Dative Case. Instrumental Case. Nominative is just your basic infinitive form of a verb (I.E. To run, To swim, to eat).   Accusative case is for direct objects. Genitive case is if your subject is "Of" something (Book of Mormon).  Prepositional is easy:) Dative case is you are saying something like "I like the book". In Russian you say "At me is pleasing the book".  Instrumental is if you are doing an action with something. All of it is super exciting. I hope I said all of those cases correctly! Anyways, enough of all that fun language stuff.

 

This week was a solid learning week! We had a great devotional last night about after converts in the church get baptized we can't let them fall away. We need to remember that there are many lost sheep - but they are not black sheep. That was pretty powerful to me.  I want to help people and bring them to remembrance of how amazing Christ is, but I am stuck here! I gotta wait another month to do that.   

Chair fighting....???

 

On another note, I just noticed something. I guess it hasn't really occurred to me before but I just realized that I hate it when the conductor of the sacrament hymns is off. We were singing some hymn, and I do not remember the time signature but let's say it was in 4/4. The conductor was (and I am not exaggerating this) conducting probably a 7/4. She had no clue what she was doing. Haha   I just had to close my eyes and sing because I was so frustrated trying to make sense of what she was doing! 

Do you remember that I have been asked to sing a special musical number in a few weeks? It is not this Sunday but the next Sunday. There is a sister in our district who has a Masters Degree in Piano Performance and she is helping me.  My companion is also going to sing with me! We are doing a mash-up of hymns. The first half of the song is "Behold, the Great Redeemer Die". Then we go into a bridge/piano solo/key change. Yep! That's right! Moving up 2 keys and finishing with "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and some sweet harmonies in there:)  I am way pumped to sing this.  It will be so good! I will try to record some of our practices for you. 

It is so much fun being here in the MTC! The teachers are all so inspirational and I can't wait to go out there and do some work! I love you all! I think about you all so much:) 

The Church is true and I Love You.

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Elder Gardner