Elder Michael Gardanier: Half Mission Conference

[Michael had a half mission conference on Monday, so his Pday was pushed to Wednesday.] We have only had one 'full mission conference' since I have been here, and that was back in March 2013 when Elder Anderson of the 12 came to visit. I guess I should be more specific, this was a 'half mission conference', so the northern half met on Monday, and the southern half met on Tuesday. Then, on Tuesday evening after the second conference, there was a special leadership meeting held for all of the ZL's in the mission as well as the STL's. . It was a good conference, but I had to wear a suit 3 days in a row, so that was different. The seventy asked each of the ZLs to sit on the stand for the first portion of the conference, which was really weird for me....as if the other missionaries don’t hate us enough already, I don't think that helped. It was cool though because he talked about looking out at the missionaries and paying attention to promptings of the spirit as to what their needs are. He said it was practice for future callings, and that the mission is the MTC for your life.

Because it was being held in Rocklin, Elder Harris and his companion didn't want to burn too many miles driving down, so they drove down from Redding (way up north) here to Oroville (middle-north) and then they rode down the rest of the way with us to Rocklin (south). So anyways, I got to spend 3+ hours in the car with Elder Harris yesterday, as well as sit by him all day Monday at the conference. It was basically a party the whole time, so we had fun and of course got milkshakes.

While we were going through this whole conference, I was pondering a lot about what I need to work on, as I know that right now I am not as good of a missionary as I can and need to be. I realized that pride is definitely holding me back, and that I really need to work on it. During the leadership meeting last night he talked a lot about good leadership skills (which I desperately needed to hear about) as well as the importance of trials in the mission. I had some interesting thoughts come into my mind as he was talking...I realized that all too often I find myself praying/hoping that The Lord will grant me the necessary traits and characteristics that I need to succeed in a certain situation through no effort of my own, but rather simply through the power of the Atonement. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe he can do that, but I realized that a lot of times in my life, instead of just giving me what I am asking for, He gives me a trial that causes me to struggle and stretch; but as a result of that trial I am able to develop those traits and characteristics that I was searching for in the first place. I firmly believe that it is through our trials and hardships that we grow the most and obtain more permanent results, while a simple blessing of strength or whatever else I am searching for would give me but temporary relief and success. So I decided that what I need right now is a trial that is going to force me to become who I need to be. Hopefully it won't kill me, but if that is what it takes then I guess bring it on!;) I hope what I am trying to say makes sense...It does in my head, but the whole putting it into words thing is always a challenge for me.

I really like the thing you said about being kind is more important than being right. I will definitely have to think about that more often when I am tempted to prove my point. Thank you for sharing that with me.

The boy in the pictures is the son of one of our investigators. [This is from the pictures he sent last week.] He is a crazy little kid, and bringing him to church is a nightmare, but hey, what else can we do? We get a lot of dirty looks from some of the members when they are in sacrament meeting because they tend to make a lot of noise, but that’s what being a missionary is all about, right?

The Sunday Schedule is really crazy at times. It is good though, but I sure feel exhausted on Sunday evenings. I was asked to speak in the YSA branch this past week, and it went okay...I did learn a lot about the importance of following the Spirit, but also in making preparations. There were only 2 of us speaking and when they turned the time over to the sister missionary that was speaking with me, we had 35 minutes to split between the two of us. Luckily this sister is a champ and didn't leave me hanging out to dry, and we each took about 16-17 minutes. I learned a lot of cool things about the YSA branch since being here. While at first it is awkward trying to get to know everyone, and there can be a lot of immaturity among some of the younger members, it is so much different than a family ward. I have found that building member trust here is just making new friends. There is one guy here in the branch that just got back off his mission less than a month ago. He is from Colorado, and is out here for a job right now, and didn't know a single person when he first came to church. Well, me and him have really hit it off. It is awesome because he is a super cool guy and way nice. I am sure he will be married really quick when he gets back to BYU-I, but we are already making plans to go to a BYU game or something when we both get back. Anyways, I just thought that was cool.

That is really cool that Lindsay got to go hang out with Aimee for the weekend. Haha I am surprised that the spent a lot of time shopping though...Did someone win the lottery or something? If so I would love a brand new truck when I get back, and maybe a small house to start my credit off right;) Haha but in all seriousness, I am glad Lindsay got to go spend time with her sister and get used to the BYU life.

I am sooooo beyond excited for all of that snow!! [All the weather people are predicting a great ski season.]At the meeting last night I was talking with Elder Holbrook and we discussed the skiing situation. We would love to get a Sundance pass so we could go up without having to trek all the way to Snowbird or Solitude. And depending on the weather and the class schedule I will have, maybe we could get up there more often than I did previously...Especially being so close. The only hang up is that Elder Holbrook doesn't have skis or a snow board, and has only gone skiing a couple of times. I told him that I wouldn't mind teaching him to ski, and that we could probably find some cheap skis somehow. Anyways, I guess that is just a long way to say that we are all on board for the Sundance plan.

Also, on a similar note, any new details on the apartment hunt? He was asking about it last night and I wasn't sure what you were looking for or what the places were like. Anyways, no pressure of course, we are just curious!

I sent a memory card home today with the last of the pictures from Olivehurst and then the ones from here. When you look at them, yes that mattress above the doorway is where I sleep...#OwnSpace #Don'tWakeUpOnTheWrongSideOfTheBed

Thanks for everything! I love all the stuff you guys write to me and hearing about your plans. Let me know if I can do anything for you guys. I hope you enjoy the cooler weather (we are still praying for that up here!). Take care!!