Week 20

Hello Friends and Family!

I believe it is now appropriate to say Happy Holidays!!! I hope you all have had wonderful thanksgivings and are embracing this season of service and giving!

Bristol is beginning to cool down! Today the weather is quite chilly: high of 55 and low of 30. While I am well acquainted with humidity in the heat, cold humidity will take some getting used to. It seems as though the moisture cuts through any layers, so 55 feels much colder than it does in Los Angeles. 

Thanksgiving is a big holiday in Bristol. In fact for the last few weeks, people have found a reason to loop Thanksgiving into just about any conversation we had. Like any normal person from outside of Bristol, I figured that they were excited for the food, the good times with family, and having a few days off of work. I now realize that I missed a crucial element of a southern thanksgiving. In Liberty County, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of rifle season for hunting.

We had a wonderful thanksgiving. We were invited to eat outside with a few families in our ward. Southern thanksgiving food is a little bit different than the food I am used to. We had multiple feasts full of fried turkey, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and pecan pie. On thanksgiving day, lunch is a rather short lived meal. I was surprised to see how quickly people left because I am used to seeing people chat after meals, especially on Thanksgiving. I realized that in Bristol, the thanksgiving meal is a means to an end. It is fuel so you can go hunting. As we finished our meal, most of the family had left and were preparing their guns for the hunt that afternoon. By the time we were onto dessert, our conversations were accompanied by a chorus of gun shots in the woods behind us.

Hunting and football seem to be the two major talking points around town. Being the previous vegetarian/classical musician that I am, I am by no means a hunting or football aficionado. In fact, I often find myself chuckling at the absurdity of serving a mission here. I come into peoples' homes, listen to them talk about hunting, share a message about Christ and leave. Even though I don't fit in perfectly, I can't help but love the kindness and generosity of people here. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to serve the wonderful people of Bristol. 

Because of thanksgiving and the beginning of hunting season, we have had a rather slow week. Despite not having many lessons, we were still able to have meaningful lessons. We had an especially meaningful discussion with our friend Jacobi. He is growing to love the Book of Mormon, and he is eager for covid to dissipate so he can be baptized. 

 

One of the arts of being a missionary is crafting a good dinner message. When a family has you over for dinner, before you leave it is expected to share a short but sweet message that is uplifting and brings the spirit. I have been thinking a lot about our intentions and how we can make them more righteous. What I have been sharing as of late comes from Galatians 5. In this chapter, Paul talks about faith amongst other things. He explains that we should have "faith which worketh through love". In other words, we need to have faith that motivates us to do good things, and we should do those things out of love rather than other motivators. I think we often get caught up in doing things for the sake of duty, reward, or praise. If we are following Christ's example, we should do everything out of love for God and love for our neighbor. If we do this, we can't go wrong. 

I love you all, and once again, happy holidays!!!  

Love,

Elder Garff