Coming back to western Kansas is the BEST! I felt like I was coming home. We stopped in dodge city to eat some food, before the last hour of driving to garden city. I forgot what it feels like to be out here. Everyone is Latino! While we were in line at the taco truck in dodge, a member stopped and paid for all of our food, and at least three times while we sat outside eating some yelled out their car windows, "Hermanos" or one guy said "Mis Amigos". That's just how people are out here.
It has been crazy to be back here. the
past three days have just been constant flashbacks of old memories I
had when I first served here. The first door I knocked on, the first
people I taught, are all here. It has been a pretty cool experience.
We had a really cool miracle on Sunday
afternoon. We had no investigators come to conference all four of the
first session, and we were pretty frustrated. On Sunday morning we were
knocking doors and inviting everyone up until 11 o'clock on the dot. we
even left conference Sunday morning to invite one last person before it was over. We felt like we had done everything. But them at 2:45 Sunday afternoon before the 3 o'clock
session we knocked a door met a lday and invited her to come and she
did! after that we went back to her house and met with her and her
husband and taught them about the restoration, anf they accepted baptism
the sast weekend this month. It built my testimony and grew my faith a
lot. Sometimes we feel like we have done all that we could do, but there
is still always more we can, until the Lord intervenes.
I'm training elder Gomm form Idaho. He is pretty funny guy. Then in that
picture are elder Walton and Whitaker, who are the other elders here in
garden city. They are super cool. Elder Walton is a commercial fisherman
from Alaska, and played college hockey at university of Utah, and we
got into the mission the same day. So we have been super good friends
from day one. Its great to be out here this time of year in western Kansas. and were on bikes again. I love bikes.
I
cant believe I only have 11 weeks left. That is just crazy. There are so
many things that need to happen in the next 11 weeks, but it is such a
short amount of time. I have felt like becoming a missionary is such an
internal part of me now. For example earlier in my mission, p day was a
day of rest and we really didn't proselyte, but now just constantly at
the library or at Walmart, I just feel like talking to everyone. Its a
lot of fun.
I also had another cool experience
being back here. October 2013 me and Elder Barclay knocked on the door
of this guy Juan, who spoke good enough English for the English elders
to visit, so we passed him off but we had a cool lesson with him and
got to know him a little. Then on Friday we were at the church playing
soccer. And Juan showed up with his wife and 2 kids. Turns out they all
got baptized February 2014 and are getting sealed in the temple this
month. I though it was pretty cool, but i didn't think he would remember
me, because we only taught him once and then passed him off. But when i
introduced my self as the new elder he immediately asked if we had met
before, then turned to his wife, and asked here if i looked like the
first missionary that they had first knocked on their door. I still don't
really feel much a part of their conversion at all, but he thanked me
for knocking on his door, and its cool just to see that sometimes we
really don't know how our good actions end up as.
Love Elder Packard
March 30
Transfers are this week! President Bell called last night and released me as a zone leader. Im off to finish where I began. In western Kansas again. I've been so blessed to serve out there so much. I will have 11 of 16 field transfers in western Kansas, between Garden, Guymon, and Liberal. There hasn't been another missionary that I know that's gotten to serve out there as much as I have. Its been a blessing. So back to a Spanish area, district leader, of the biggest district I've ever been in. It's 5 companionships. I'm training a new Elder Elder Gomm. I don't know anything about him.
Yea its pretty crazy, I have 14 weeks left. It does not feel like I
have been gone for 2 years. But I guess its been about that long. Elder
McKellar only has 8 weeks left. He will be home the week of mothers
day. and thats even crazier to think about. He is basically done. Time
is really weird, when I think about the things that happened this week,
they seem like they were forever ago. But when i think about the last 6
months, it all flew by.
This week was super
busy though. We were on exchanges with the assistants all day Wednesday.
So I was with Elder Budge for a whole day. It was a lot of fun. And
then on Saturday was a blast. So Carlos Martinez, our recent convert,
his grandparents were having their wedding anniversary, so they said he
had to leave the house for the whole day, and on Saturday we picked up
Alex Espinoza, our mini missionary who stayed with us all weekend from
the Spanish Branch in the stake. So Carlos just dressed up like a missionary, and we just split the whole day, each of us with either Alex
or Carlos, and Saturday was super good weather, so there were people
outside everywhere, and the weekend to start spring break. We talked to
tons of people. I think i taught more lessons this week than i have in
any other week of my mission. We taught a total of 71 lessons in total,
to investigators, less actives, or members.
March 3
So cool about all the cousins getting into BYU! Thats exciting. Sunday dinners could be fun. So what all cousins will be there.
It doesn't really feel like anything is coming to an end. Actually my mission is better now than it ever has been, I understand how to do stuff, now. Not all the way of course, but I know the normal ins and outs of missionary work I guess you could say.
We had two really cool
experiences this week. So there is a whole ton of students from Ecuador
that are sent here by the government to study English and return to
Ecuador to teach English. We have met a handful of the,. There is a
return missionary in the group named Sol that was bringing her friend
Vanessa to institute, and church. Anyways we have a weekly meeting with
the stake president, and at our last meeting. He invited us to his house
for dinner, and he also had invited Sol and Vanessa.(he teaches
institute). and so we went on Monday and taught the restoration, and Vanessa really liked it. We met up again on Thursday, and she had a
really cool experience with the book of Mormon. She said that she only
and a couple of minutes to read so she sat down and started with the
introduction. She said that she had a kinda out of body experience, she
saw everyhitng that was happening as she read. And really felt the
spirit. She said she looked back up at the clock and 40 minites had gone
by. then she again in our lesson said she "had never felt this way
before". SO she is doing super cool. We expect her to get baptized here
this month.
Friday We were trying to
contact a less active on campus, but he didn't answer his door, so we
went outside to his neighbor who lived int he same complex, who was
smoking outside, and asked him if he know the Less active. He led us
back into the apartments to look at the names on the mail boxes to see
if he still lived there. So we got into a conversation with him, and just barely asked him if he had ever spoken with missionaries before,
and were talking, and he got super white in the face, and leaned over.
on his knees. And was apologizing, but then he slumped up against the
wall. He looked super sick. And we asked him what was wrong, and he said
he was trying to quit smoking and it was his last day. So we offered him
a blessing. and he said that it would be OK, so we stepped into his
apartment, and his brother was there, and we gave him a blessing, and
immediately color went back into his face, and he was feeling much
better. So then we sat down and taught he and his brother the
restoration. They are both really prepared, and accepted baptism. The
spirit was strong. Especially right after the blessing.
It is just cool to see where the Lord will put us if we are doing what we should.
This
week are going to Wichita again for our monthly meeting. Holy cow,
February went by super fast. I have less than 4 months left. I still
can't quite comprehend going home, because it hasn't ever happened
before. Elder McKellar has 10 weeks left. That's crazy. It has all gon e
by like a flash. It seems as though nothing has happened because it has
gone so fast. But then i think about it and so much really has
happened. I mean I've lived in like 6 different locations, with like 12
different roomates all the last 20 months. Its just weird to think all
of that has happened. I don't even know how I got here today. Its feels a
lot like the Caribean. Like a distant memory. Or a dream. But it wasn't
even long ago. I'm going to send home a box of some stuff, including a 3
piece baby blue suit
I do look forwatrd
spending my last 12 weeks in a Spanish area, as a non zone leader. No
administrative stuff to do. No meetings. Just bikes and an area, and
good weather, and a gospel to testify of!! I guess anything could
happen, but that is what's likely.
February 16
Looks like this transfer I will stay here in Manhattan another 6 weeks. Withe Elder Herrera, so that is good, I enjoy it here. It snowed last night. Its been pretty cold anyways, and everything has been really good. This morning we got to tour through a chicken hatchery. Guess how many chickens hatch per day. 75,000. That's a lot of little pollitos.
