Week 24

Hello Friends and Family! 

What a wonderful time of year it is. People are happy, work/school has slowed down, and the New Year is just ahead.

These last few days have been chilly, but today we have a high of 68, so we are enjoying the good weather in short sleeves! In fact, this whole next week should be in the low 70s, so we are very excited.

This week was one of the more chaotic and wonderful weeks I have had. In a rush to get all of our stockings done, we drove all over our area Tuesday-Thursday trying to get all of the stockings delivered. Thursday was very rainy and cold. We bundled up and drove way out into the outer-realms of our area to talk to members who hadn't gone to church in a while. It is so fun to meet people. They come from all walks of life, and their experiences are often very different from Elder Clove and mine. There is so much to learn from them, and they are so loving and welcoming. 

Our Christmas was wonderful. We spent our time talking and eating with families in the area. While the holidays have provided a slight lull in our normal teaching routine, we have enjoyed getting to know our friends on a more personal level. One guy we are teaching showed us pictures of the alligators he has caught. The biggest one was 12.5 ft long. It took a forklift to get it out of the boat!

We have zone conference tomorrow. It was originally set for the week before Christmas, but because our mission president was exposed to COVID, we postponed it until he was out of quarantine. Excitement is ramping up as we prepare for the 2021 mission vision. 

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish". Each year the mission president and some of the more seasoned missionaries set a vision for the mission and set specific goals to achieve that vision. We are encouraged to follow this same pattern and set a personal vision and specific goals to achieve that personal vision. I believe that this pattern is a correct one to follow. While I am by no means an expert goal setter/achiever, I have found that when I do set a goal I am passionate about and diligently try to improve daily so that I may achieve it, I feel rewarded. 

I hope that each of you will set goals for this new year, and I hope that some of them will be spiritual in nature. As we set spiritual goals, we should pray to know what God would have us improve on. It is my testimony that ideas will pop into our minds, and Christ will help us achieve them through His grace. Our goals can be as simple as praying daily, reading the scriptures more often, etc., but know that as we write them down and strive to improve daily, we will feel the influence of divine help to achieve them.

I hope that you have a wonderful week, and know that I love you!

Love,

Elder Garff

Attached is a photo of the appalachicola river - where our friend caught the 12.5 ft alligator!