Last Transfer

This week we had a lot of planned activities but they didn't all work out as planned. People cancelled lessons but we were very blessed that they called and let us know ahead of time so we didn't have to sit around and wait for them to show up. We went tracting a lot and got yelled at quite a bit. It was one of the times here when we got yelled at the most. It seemed like people were just snapping left and right haha! We would knock on a door and they would open it, see us, and slam it without saying a word before we could even say hello. That happened quite a few times. Or we would knock, they would open it and would start immediately yelling at us telling us that we are goats and that we need to leave or else they would beat us up hahaha these sweet old grandmothers just have the most bright, colorful, overwhelming, bipolar, crazy tempers. I use all those words to describe their tempers because I can't think of a single word to say what I want to convey. I find it a bit comical in a sense because these people have never seen us before, they don't know why we knocked on their door they just immediately go crazy:) It is quite amusing. Not that I am trying to disrespect them, we of course leave when they make us. We don't try to antagonize them and get their blood pressure higher than it already is. I just find it interesting that it happened so much this week, it’s hard not to find it funny IMHO. 

 

What else? We found 3 different apartments where the people invited us to come back and share our message with them. We visited 2 of the 3 yesterday and they were either too busy or not home. We will be stopping by again in the upcoming weeks. Good times!

 

We got haircuts this week and one of the members cut our hair. She is a wonderful lady, she didn't even make us pay.   I got sunburned a few weeks ago. It was the first time that has happened in 2 years. It was on my neck and arms after we went on a hike:p

 

That is about it! The best part of our week was getting to play soccer with our members. I got really lucky and scored 3 goals! Wow, haha I surprise even myself sometimes. The low of my week was probably not getting to meet with Nikolai. He had to cancel the lesson because he was helping his friend with something. That's a good reason for cancelling, I am glad he didn't say "I am just too tired to meet" That would be a less good reason to cancel our meeting.

 

It sounds like you are all doing well.  I also am not doing too bad right now but I feel sad when I realize that in about 30 days I won't be here anymore and it will all be a memory. Not my life anymore but a memory of what my life was for 2 years. The members here are so great I feel like I haven't done enough to help them and I really want to continue any way I can to help them when I get home. 

 

Don't worry, I plan to keep going strong to the end. That is one of my biggest goals, I do not want to give up early. Thank you for the support. I love you a lot!

 

I am staying with Elder Turner for my last transfer and Elder Nielson is leaving for Ussurisk. Now it will be Elder Turner and me along with Elder Vincent and Elder King. Good guys. 

 

That is very sad to hear about Uncle Kent passing away. That reminds me, though, of the talk from General Conference by Michael T. Ringwood Truly Good and Without Guile. That is the kind of person I hope to become. I am sure that Uncle Kent was one of those. 

 

 I completely forgot that Shark Week was a thing! Oh man, I am pretty jealous of you all. We will have to have a Sharknado marathon when I get back.

 

It's cool that you get to go see Kreston play ball in CA.  Give him a big Privet from me and a big FIG also :) I am sure he would be very happy. 

Anyways, I hope you have a great week this week and remember who you are and act accordingly.

 

Elder Gardner 

Happy Fathers Day

Hi there! Sorry I am emailing late, we were late today with what we’ve been doing.

I am a little upset that I missed my candy bar at church! I might just have to go buy one for myself from the store. Here in Russia we don't have father’s day, they have other holidays though celebrating their men.

It’s great to hear from you always. Thanks for being so diligent about writing me! 

I am so glad that I am here instead of there in your heat! Here we have been having rains and cool temps all week:)

That's so great that Grandma got to go out to NYC and party a little bit! She’s so cool:)

I am glad to hear that Calvin made it home safe and sound too. We will be hanging out in no time. What is his new email address? I would like to still chat with him, but I don't think he will be using his LDS email here shortly.

Our week was good. We had a lot of lessons with members and investigators and we tried hard to make all of our lessons interesting and fun. We talked about war and testimonies with a 13 year old member. We read Alma 49 and compared the wall to a testimony. We had lessons with a couple of our investigators and they are all doing so great. They are all very interested in our church and love it and want to be a part of it. They just need to make sure they can really say that they know like we do that it is true before they get baptized.

I have been thinking about how lucky I am recently. It was a quote from someone I don't recall who. "Don't judge people because you would likely act the same way if you were in their shoes". Why was I not born in Russia to parents who didn't really want me? Why wasn't I born into poverty or anything else like that? Why is my life so greatly blessed? What did I do differently to deserve it? I couldn't tell you, I have been thinking about it a lot and am not sure why I am so lucky.

The island is nice, we had some Korean food this week! We had some interesting soup at the restaurant... Man's best friend... I guess the Koreans didn't get the memo that you’re not supposed to eat your friends :p  It was odd, kinda chewy meat, the fat was very soft and sweet and is supposed to be very healthy for you. Russians use it all the time apparently! I had no idea! The smell was not the best either but Koreans love it. I also had some Bi Bam Bop! It is just fun to say haha its rice with a hardboiled egg and veggies and it was pretty good:)

Korean Stew

There is a lot of Japanese stuff here, I really like the culture.

I don't have a whole lot of time to write though! I love you a lot and Happy Fathers Day.  Thank you for who you are. I love you!

I love you all :)

 Elder Gardner

2 years just isn't enough time!

Hi,

Your favorite son is doing well! Our week was a good week. I appreciate the music you sent.  As soon as I plugged it in I started scrolling through because I was CERTAIN that there was going to be something unusual on it. It didn't take me long to find a certain song about puppies! Hahah It was a great surprise, I think Elder Turner was a little bit weirded out when I started singing along. He had never heard that song before!   Cameron included a Dr. Demento song that she knew Ryan would like.  And about the card, (We sent an "infinity" card that plays music for hours and hours and drives you crazy) I never actually pressed it! I saw it and thought... that's a weird thing to say. That's not a normal card. Not really a catchy phrase either haha. I then read what you all wrote down and remembered something about the infinity cards hahaha. I still haven't pressed the button! Its just sitting on my desk waiting to be pressed:) Sorry for ruining it, haha, I might press it and hide it somewhere right as I am leaving Sakhalin as a surprise for the other elders haha:p 

When we  went on our hike, we tucked our pants into our socks because of ticks. They were supposed to be a big hazard but we didn't have a single one climb up on us. We tucked our pants into our socks and put lavender oil on our shoes to keep them away. It seemed to work pretty well:) 

 

This week we didn't have too many lessons with investigators. They were all busy and not answering their phones. We had a few though and they were very nice. We met with a member named Sister Tatiana and she is a wonderful lady. She has had some rough patches in life and has stuck strong to the gospel. She shared stories about her wayward son and how she has felt the comfort that comes from living the Gospel. There are some really great members here. I want to be more like them, like Elder Ringwood talked about those who are truly good and without guile. That was a great talk that I read this week by the way.

 

It is important that we remember our end goal. It isn't fame or fortune or being the best Mom in the PTA or having the nicest house or anything like that. Those are all things that we can strive toward, and some of them are very worthy things that we should work dilligently to accomplish. But they aren't the end goal. I know that for myself I sometimes get caught up in the little things that aren't as important in the grand scheme of things. Our personal conversion is very important and not so much how converted our friends think we are. I like what Elder Ringwood said "Today there are some who would have us believe our search for relevance can be satisfied only by obtaining position and power. Yet, thankfully, there are many who are uninfluenced by this perspective. They find relevance in seeking to be truly good and without guile. I have found them in all walks of life and in many faith traditions. And I find them in large numbers among the truly converted followers of Christ."

I didn't get to meet with Nikolai this week but Elder Turner did, we had a split. I was with Elder Vincent and it was great. He is a great guy:) Very focused and very hardworking.

 

I can't believe Calvin is already home in 2 days. He was in the MTC with me! That means I am home soon! Haha time is just flying so quickly. I wish I could slow it down and stay longer. 2 years just isn't enough time. 

Thank you for your prayers! They help a lot. I love you

Elder Gardner

Turning 20!!

Thank you for the Birthday wishes everyone! I had a great birthday this week!

 

 

I was on a split with Elder Nielson, who is from Vegas. We went to a service project early in the morning to help the Hare Krishna people make soup. We cleaned carrots and potatoes and then had to go. There were a lot of carrots and taters... They make a lot of soup and help a lot of people.  I really love the Hare Krishna people.

 

That is so crazy that Jared and Blake are going to the same place! My homecoming talk will be right around the time of their farewell talks, haha that's great.

 

You asked about rent.  Our rent in Sakhalin is much more than it should be. It is 40 k. In my previous area it was 27 k. It's a 3 room apartment which is more than enough for 2 guys and it is more than I would say is average. You could find a cheaper one easily but I am not sure why we haven't done that haha. It is such a hassle though to find an apartment though so we are staying here for now. 

I got my birthday package this week and I opened it before my birthday! Oops:) Thank you so much for all the things you got me! I really enjoyed the snacks and cake and BYU socks. They match my suit so I have been wearing them with my blue suit. I only have 1 suit, I had a black one and the brown one from Elder Kluff but I didn't have enough room in my suitcase to bring those to Sakhalin and they were falling apart anyways, so I have just one suit here. I might get another right before I come home. I will also be getting shoes in the near future. But that is just a side note:) 

I feel like I have been getting a bit weak, I need to step up my morning workouts. Today we went hiking on a mountain and it was fun! I will send pictures later if I have a moment. 

The school schedule that you sent me is a good one! I have no idea what a lot of credits look like, I just know that the things on there all look super interesting! Except for the English 101 class haha. But I will probably need it, my English isn't as good as I would like it to be. What would be a low amount of credits? What would be a completely filled to the brim schedule? How many credits? I don't know exactly how this whole thing works. Each class is on a different day, probably a few times each week for each class but I don't know much after that... Could you explain to me? It seems like that isn't too much but I don't have a reference point so I couldn't say for sure.  Thank you for all the help getting this college thing up and going. I love you.

 

We taught our investigator Nikolai this week and before the lesson he was talking about how he gave up drinking alcohol and how great he feels because of it and he made a comment that now he could give the money he would have spent on alcohol to the church. A few minutes later we started our lesson about tithing and he said "Hey! This is what I am talking about! This is great!" He said that he just needs to give up smoking and all will be well. He is such a great guy. He has a genuine desire to change and become a better person. He is making all the changes in his life because he understands what God wants and he is willing to do it. It is so refreshing to see that in him and I am grateful for the opportunity to be teaching him. 

 

Remember Isaiah 57:21. That is something that nobody can take away from you if you are striving to become more and more like your savior every day. I promise you that peace comes to the righteous and it is one of the greatest gifts that we can get from our Heavenly Father.

Elder Gardner

Sunday in Sakhalin

Howdy,

This week on the island was a good one. We taught a lot of lessons and our investigators are progressing well. We had a few lessons planned with investigators and new members and they invited their friends to the lessons. We made some new friends this week and I am grateful for the chance that we have to teach people about the happy message of the gospel. I am so grateful now and I didn't realize how blessed I was earlier in my life that our family is so strong and together. It is something that not every person has in their life and I am so grateful that I have it. Thank you, Dad, for being a good father. Good fathers seem to be few and far between. 

That is so great that there are lots of changes happening in the lives of our loved ones. Change is definitely not always easy but its what we need I think. I can't imagine staying at the same point I am at right now and being happy with that. I hope I never stop changing, learning and growing. 

This Sunday we had a special Sunday. During sacrament meeting we had 2 people get up and speak to us about self-reliance and then our 2nd and 3rd hours of church were focused on starting the church's Self-Reliance program in the Sakhalin branch. It was fun learning about that kind of stuff. It seems like really useful knowledge and something that I will need in the very very near future:p 

 

I was sitting next to some Americans who live in the branch and translating for them. They work for Exxon. So their living situation is pretty sweet. The company Exxon pays for their living arrangments and electricity and basically everything they need to live except for food and clothing. The company really takes care of their Americans who work for them here in Russia. So they have a really really great thing going for them. These Americans don't really need to learn about Self-reliance, they already are rolling in the dough so we just chatted the whole time. We talked about jobs and life and what they do for a living and what I think I might want to do for a living. One man said the starting salary for someone coming into Exxon would be around 100k. I don't know if that's exactly right because that seems very high... but he would know better than I would!

 

I mentioned that I liked pottery but wasn't sure how to make a living and support a family off of pottery. They told me that I had a few options. I could get REALLY good at pottery and become the best at that in order to support my family. Or I could get another job that I maybe didn't like as much as pottery and use that to support my family, and do pottery on the side as a hobby. Or I could become a teacher and do that until I could figure out how to make a pottery business lucrative. Or I could keep my options open and try lots and lots of things my first years of college and see what else tickles my fancy as much as pottery. He said maybe I just like working with my hands and would be interested as well in welding or some other activity similar to pottery. I think I still want to keep my options open of course. I am a fan of lots of different things in life, I don't think I have found my niche yet. I think it will come though in college. 

I mentioned that I liked robotics and programming too, that I thought that was a cool area. I also told them how I was on the underwater robotics team in highschool and we did pretty good. He then started telling me about these underwater robots that they use on oil rigs 5,000 feet deep in the ocean. Now THAT sounds cool! Haha he also said that the robotics field is in need. They have such a long ways to go in that field and there is a lot to be discovered, but there just isn't a whole lot of interest in that field or there aren't enough people to work in that field so he recommended that I keep that as an option. I think that would be very cool. I could move back to Sakhalin at age 25 with my wife and be making big money and working on robots 5,000 feet deep. That isn't the worst idea I have ever heard. Of course there are a lot of dominoes that would have to fall into place to make it happen but I could see that being a real possibility. I don't know... I feel like I need to dream bigger though... That plan I laid out is just too simple, too easy. I can do better, but I don't know what I would do yet. 

Anyways, my high was probably getting to talk with the American guys about work and life. One of them told me that he really really wanted to be a doctor and that's what he tried to become, but it didn't work out. And he is now working for Exxon and wouldn't go back and change it if he had the choice. It's interesting seeing how their lives worked out, what dreams they had and how it all unfolded to get them to where they are today. When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? My low was probably that we didn't get to go tracting as much as I would have liked to but that's not the biggest deal. We still found 2 new investigators.  

I haven't eaten anything super interesting recently but we are planning on having some dog... Wish us luck! 

 

I hope you have a great week and don't forget to learn something new:)

Elder Gardner

Sakhalin is Great

Hey there.  I am really enjoying Sakhalin! It is a great place, there weather is good and there are great members of the church. I am so glad to be here. The Branch President here reminds me of our Branch President in Irkutsk.  He is a really good guy!

I am not jealous of Cameron at all - I don't want to do summer school. It will be good though. I think back about the opportunities I had to study harder or do more things and I regret not doing more. I was kind of lazy and I wish I would have used my time more effectively.

That is great to hear about Austin and Mikal. Those pictures were very cute.

I believe that President and Sister Perkinson are coming to Sakhalin in a few weeks so I will hopefully get the package soon.

I like the topic of service and the program called "Justserve" that sounds pretty great. I had no idea that that it existed. I think there are some really great blessings hidden in service. I really hope we can all serve more each and every day. No matter if we are taking big or small steps, we need to be taking steps in the right direction every day :)

This week was a good week. We had a few lessons with our investigators and they are really great. One investigator named Elena is progressing really well. She asked us a bunch of questions about what rules we have at our church and what you need to do as a member. It hit me this week that she sees our church just as we see other churches. Let’s say that we see a protestant church or a catholic mass. We probably think... Hmm that's interesting I haven't seen that before. A thought I have had before at a protestant church "Oh that's interesting that everyone is standing up and speaking in tongues praying". But for those people, that is their form of worship. That is what they have grown up in, that is probably the only way they know to connect with God. Same thing with our church. When new people come to our church they probably think, why is everyone being so quiet? Why isn't anyone walking around the stage and speaking in a loud, powerful voice preaching to us? Why are they letting 13 year olds hand out the sacrament? Where are the guitars and drums? Where are the statues and crosses? It’s fun to notice the differences and try to see our church through other people’s eyes. Try it some time.

We also met with a few other people this week and they are all doing fine, nothing big is happening in their lives though. Some are trying to avoid the temptation to drink coffee, some are trying to figure out what they believe in. Some are battling to overcome their lack of faith and some are really doing great and they are feeling the happiness that comes from living the Gospel.

The Branch here has about 50 people coming every week which is one of the biggest branches in our mission. It is great to see how strong these members are and how dedicated they are to doing what is right. The members here so far seem to like me. I am replacing a Russian Elder that served here and I think they miss him. That's okay, I am feeling loved and and already having lots of opportunities to serve them.

Thank you for the support you give me, and I hope you have a great week :)

Elder Gardner

Transfered to Sakhalin

Hey there,

It was a bit odd to hear you all call me "Ryan" while we were skyping this past weekend! Haha its been quite a while since that's happened.   This last Visa trip was a good one. We got put on a later flight than half the other missionaries. We caught up with them later in the temple. The past few times I have been in the Temple I have grabbed a Bible and started reading. Each time I just randomly opened it up and each time the same page opened up and this same verse stuck out to me, it's in Isaiah chapter 57 verse 21. 

I flew out with the Sakhalin elders and some others. It was a good time getting to see them and spend time together. I got to Sakhalin on Friday night. Now I am on Sakhalin, it’s pretty great that I can be on an island. It isn't warm but it’s also not cold. It’s like a nice autumn day each and every day. I don't know a whole lot about the heritage of Sakhalin yet but hopefully I will learn a lot more. On Saturday early morning we got the chance to go do service with the branch. We went to a riverside, some river bank and cleaned it up. We picked up dead branches and garbage and raked up leaves and it looked really nice after we left. We got to wear helping hands vests and I felt pretty official. J

Another big plus is that our investigator came and helped up clean up. She is so wonderful, she is already fitting in to the branch and becoming a part of it.

I didn't know Austin was getting married. Is he still going to be living in Vegas doing magic? I haven't heard about him for a while. Speaking of the Brian and Jane family, our apartment smells like their house does... haha that's kinda random but I had that thought yesterday. It’s pretty crazy that everyone is growing up so fast! I can't wait to see them all again, I am worried that I won't recognize them all! Do you have a countdown clock going? It feels like the closer I am getting to the end, the faster time is moving and that's kinda scary haha. I don't want to miss these last few months. I have a lot to do and I am staying focused.

Turns out that Elder Hess has a girl that he likes and she is serving in the Tempe Arizona mission, so if you see any pretty sister missionaries in the ward you'll have to ask her if she knows Elder Hess!

This week was a good week and it was a lot of travelling and packing and getting organized. I had to leave a few cat shirts in Artyom sadly, I didn't have enough room in my suitcases. I also left some shorts and Elder Cluff's brown suit that I snagged a month ago. That's okay though, it wasn't the best quality still. It was a bit old.  :)

Elder Turner is a great Elder. He is still learning Russian, but so am I. I really don't think I will be finished studying it, ever... haha I want to keep going with the study of the Russian language when I get back home. It is such a rich language. I hear new words every day and I don't think I will ever get to the point where I will understand everything 100 percent haha. It's so great! That means I can always get better and that is great.

About your dream (Ryan’s dad had a dream that his father told him that Ryan’s mission is much harder than he lets on), that's very interesting. I personally very much believe in dreams and that they can be a way to recieve further light and knowledge that we each need. Grandpa Gardner is a pretty smart guy, in your dreams too he is spot on. I mean... yeah it's hard, but was there anything in life worth getting that didn't require hard work and sacrifice and a little bit of suffering?   Maybe not suffering... that sounds a bit too harsh but I don't know what other word to put in place of it. There is no growth in our comfort zones, and there is no comfort in a growth zone. I struggle but that's really the reason we came to this Earth. It doesn't mention in the scriptures anything about God's weekends or vacations he took. It talks about his work and his effort to help us and his constant care for his children. I am enjoying this whole mission, and I am so grateful every morning to be able to be a part of it.

I love you a lot and am grateful for all you do for me, even when it isn't noticed.

Love

Elder Gardner