Hola everybody!!

            So being in forks has been pretty awesome! fun fact: everyone in forks hates twilight :P The area is so small that if you blink you miss it. Everything is fairley close to us so we get to drive everywhere which is nice :) My companion is Elder Warren and he is from Georgia. He has been out one transfer longer than me :) When we left tacoma on transfer day we left at about 6:30 and didnt get to our apartment till about 10 pm. it was the longest drive i have ever made :P Everyweek for P-Day and District meeting we have to take a bus to Port Angeles. The bus ride takes about 1 1/2 hours :-| We got to our apartment and it was totally trashed... There was garbage everywhere. The dishes were stacked a mile high in the sink. It took Elder Warren 1 1/2 hours to do dishes while i cleaned th rest of the place. Also there was no progress records as to who the previous elders were wokin with or anything. so we are shooting in the dark with this one :P The first picture is of Steve...he was the apartment pet...we lost him... the second picture is of my planner the lily shill drew for me!! :) the third one is of Elder Bowser and myself with one of our converts Alex Farnsworth. The fourth picture is of Alex's family and us elders!

PS: The area is very small:P there are no stores around us :P all we have is a thrift-way store and subway.that's it. church has about 60 people. both Elder Warren and i have to speak next week in church.


   Elder Garr

Pic #1: Steve, apartment pet.

Pic #2: Kyle's Planner created by Lily

Pic #3: Elder Garr, Elder Bowser, & Alex Farnsworth

Pic #4: The Elders and Alex's Family

Pic #5: Map showing where Forks, WA is located. Hint: Near the coast & Canada

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TRANSFERS!!!!!!!!!!

       So im guessing you all want to know where i will be serving for the next 6 weeks!?!?!?! I am leaving port orchard and going to...(drum roll please)..........Forks, Washington!!! it is the biggest area in the mission and from Tacoma it's about a 3 hour drive!!! crazy!! My new companion will be Elder Warren!! i know absolutely nothing about him so my next email will have some details about him!!! We had another baptism this past sunday!!!! (but i forgot my camera at the apartment so i will send pictures next week) His name is Alex Farnsworth!!! He is an un-baptized child of a less active family that is starting to come back to church! Elder Bowser performed the baptism and i got to comfirm him!! also in sacrament meeting i had the chance to confirm Cody Brooks!!! Two confirmations in one day!! who knew?!? Anyways regarding my new area im going up near where my last companion is. Elder Hathaway will be in my zone! Forks is so far out there that For district meeting and P-Day we take a 2 hour bus ride to the next area!!! told ya it was the biggest area in the mission! OH!!! so yesterday (sunday the 3rd) We were driving into the church parking lot when i noticed a guy and his friend walking to their car to get something. i looked at him and he looked so familiar!! After we passed them we got out of the car and i was looking at these 2 guys like a creeper. so i walked in the building and these guys caught up to me and i turned around and one of them was an elder that served in the mesa az Eastridge ward on his mission!!! I cant remember his name to save my life but he is like 6' 2" and has blonde hair! its crazy that he served in my home ward and when he got back like 2 weeks ago i was serving in his home ward!!! small mormon world!!! it was neat to catch up with him. but its wierd because he is no longer an elder and im the elder now :P I can remember when i would get a call from the missionaries back home and they would need a ride somewhere. I drove this guy around town a ton of times back in AZ :P Anyways im running out of time on the computer and i still have more people to write! i love everyone! i love being a missionary!!

                               -Elder Garr

ps. My new mailing address is 

Elder Kyle Garr

P.O. Box 1132

Forks, WA 98331

:) feel free to send letters here :)

Also, here's a random picture I found of Kyle on the Tacoma Mission Blog. I know nothing about the picture but it looks like Kyle is doing well.

Hola Everyone!

     This week has been pretty lame :/ on Saturday we went and did a service project for a less active in the ward. we are still working on digging tree stumps out! but this last Saturday i was digging around a root and a sharp pain hit my lower back and shot down the back of my leg. The chiropractor that i have been seeing had mentioned that when the pain shoots down either leg it means you have pinched a nerve. I have been pretty much crippled these past couple days :/ Thanks family for that gene pool :P On a happier note we are planning another baptism for the 3rd of march!! It is for a UBC that is 11 yrs old! he is super stoked! this week will probably be a ton of planning for that!

       Transfer calls are this coming Saturday!!! Please dont send anything through USPS!!! I get the call on Saturday and i will let everyone know my new address on monday if i am moving or not!! If i do leave and you do send the letters and things it will be a pain to get them back!!!

      I love being a missionary!!

                          -Elder Garr

Baptism!!!

     Hola everyone!!! This past week has been amazing! We had a baptismal service on sunday the 17th for Cody Brooks! I had the wonderful opportunity to be the one to baptise him!! It was amazing! Everyone was doubting me because I'm a scrawney 6 foot tall 160lb missionary and Cody is 6' 5" and at least 300lbs! All it took was one time! In 2 weeks on March the 3rd i will get to confirm him because next week is stake conference! This past week has been planning for the baptism. we found 2 new investigators that we are teaching! They are a couple named Heather and Jimmy! Heather realizes that she needs to turn her life around and Jimmy hasn't really grown up yet... We will keep working with them and see where it goes! other than that we've been pretty busy with the baptism and things of that nature! this Gospel is the greatest! I love missionary work!

                                       -Elder Garr

The first two photos are pictures of a board (pieced together and then where i broke it) that i punched through for zone meeting. the zone leaders asked us one of our fears and then wrote it on the board and everyone got to punch through their own board to overcome that fear! it was pretty awesome!

The third picture is the desk of a busy Elder! (Me)

The fourth picture is Elder Bowser, Cody Brooks, and myself!

Kyle's mom keeps asking questions and here are some the answers:

  1. I haven't had to use my bike yet, so I have no clue if it's a good bike.

  2. We make breakfast ourselves and most of the time we have mac & cheese or ramen for lunch.

  3. Most of the time we have dinner with a member but there are those nights that we will go out to eat.

  4. My companion Elder Bowser is from Provo, Utah and my last companion Elder Hathaway is from Memphis, TN.

  5. The weather is between 40 - 65 degrees but I love this weather, I don't miss the sun at all. 

  

One Hectic Week!

hola everyone!!!

 

   This week has been pretty hectic! we have been teaching a ton of people and working with UBC's and PMF's

(Un-Baptized Children and Part Member Families) one of the people we are working with is a boy named Alex. He is ten years old and both of his parents are members but the mother is less active. Its crazy to think how some people can just go inactive. I dont see how at one point in your life you go from knowing the truth of the church and seeing the blessings that you get when you live the gospel to not going to church. The one thing that is a reassurance is the saviours atonement for each and everyone of us. No matter how far down the road of sin we go, we can always use the power of the atonement and turn our lives around. This week we went and taught Cody the word of wisdom and right then and there he gave us the rest of his tobacco and told us he was done smoking and to throw away the tobacco. Its amazing how the gospel can effect others lives! I am sill waiting for those who read my last email to write me about the challenge i gave out!!! DO IT!!! by just sharing the BofM with someone it may not affect them right away but it will affect them later in life. everyone can use the atonement in their life! Be a member missionary!!! give the elders in your area people to work with! sit in on the lessons with them! it makes such a big difference to an investigator when they already have a tight bond with someone they know! I love this Gospel! I love being in the WA-TAC Mission! I love everyone out here and back home!!

                                            -Elder Garr

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Video from October 27, 2012

This was a recorded while they were practicing to sing in Sacrament. I missed the beginning where Kyle did a solo. Missing the music in our home that Kyle brought. (Let me know if the link doesn't work.)

Mom, Kyle, Kinlee, and Lexi

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It's Been A Crazy Week!!!

     This whole last week has been crazy with transfers and everything! Elder Bowser is my new comp. and he is really funny! our sarcasm is very alike! we have a greenie living with us in our apartment! he is pretty sweet. this last week we have done a ton of tracting! we have put two people on date!!! the first is Shirley and her daughter Vanessa. they didn't come to church so it has to be pushed back a week. we also tracted into a guy a couple weeks ago and so elder bowser and i decided to go check up on him. when we knocked on his door he wasn't home but his older brother was there and we talked to him for an hour! his name is Cody and he is the biggest teddy bear! he is at least 6' 5" and at least 300 lbs. he accepted to be baptised and so we put him on date for the 16th of this month! he came to church and said he really liked the atmosphere. we will hope to see him at church next week and then baptise him!!! other than that things have been pretty mellow. the weather up here is beautiful! its like 55-60 degrees everyday and it hasn't really been raining these past couple days! the sun has been shining and its been awesome. That is still one thing i don't really miss about Arizona, the sun. there is too much of it! I love this gospel! the book of mormon is true! I'm giving everyone that reads this email a challenge. hand out at least one book of mormon to a friend or someone you meet. don't be scared. Just do it! once you do it email me about the experience you have. one thing you can do is write your cell number in the book and tell them if they have any questions to call you. i also challenge everyone to read from the book of mormon at least 30 mins a day! just pick a time everyday and just do it! i promise you that as you read the book of mormon 30 mins a day you will see the effect it has in your everyday life. i love and miss everyone! 

                                   -Elder Garr