Elder Derick Garner

Goodbye,   These get harder to write each week. Not because I don't want to, it's just as this way of living becomes less new, it becomes harder to remember all the details of each day. I will tell you what I can, though.   I went on two exchanges this week. For those who don't know, that's when two companionships switch companions for the day. So on Tuesday I was with Elder Cooper, who laughs like a hyena and has a car, so it we were able to get a lot more done that day than when on bikes. On Friday I was with Elder Owens, who knows every song that no one knows. We did a ton of biking that day and actually didn't end up doing too much knocking, because all of our original plans didn't seem right when we actually got to them. It was fun to get to know some of the other Elders in the district better, and they both gave me some pretty good advice for getting the most out of my mission.   With Elder Cooper, we ended up teaching a lesson with a really ni...

Dear agony,   I'm doing great! That header is just a song title that came to mind, so I hope it didn't make anyone worried. I've definitely grown way more accustomed to this life in the past week and a half than I thought I would by now. Biking has gotten way easier and when I'm not getting heat stroke or hit by cars, it's actually pretty fun! It did used to be one of my favorite outdoor activities, so I'm happy that the mission is helping me get back into it.    I'm a little short on time right now, so I'll keep this quick. This week we biked a lot, did some service at a donation center, and went to an Anglican wedding. The thing I'm going to focus on is the wedding. Two of the people we are teaching have actually been engaged the whole time we've known them, and they had their wedding just this Friday. They really wanted us to be there, so we got permission and headed out that night. It was very interesting to go as representatives of o...

Dear fellow Americans (and others),     Houston Temple I am finally in Texas, and it's been an interesting few days. The first day was just orientation, which was super slow, because we basically just went over everything we talked about in the MTC, so it was nothing really new. Then the next day I met my trainer/companion, Elder Lindsay. He's super cool and it's his first time training, so we're learning together basically. We're in the Northpointe area, which actually covers the Northpointe and Telge wards, so we go to both on Sundays. We have one of the biggest areas in the zone, but somehow we're the ones on bikes. When it's not 90% humidity and 97 degrees out, biking is actually kind of nice, but alas, we're in Houston, so we barely get that relaxed weather. On the first day we were planning on biking to the other side of the area and committing a whole family to Baptism, which was super intimidating for a first day, but the plans fell through...

Hey everyone,     It's been a weird week, I can't think of much right now because I'm tired, so this one will be a bit shorter than the last two. I'm gonna miss my District, but  I'm ready to get out of here. I can't imagine how the missionaries who have to stay here for 6 or more weeks must feel. I just walk between the same 4 buildings everyday and as the days have gone on they've been getting more and more repetitive. That doesn't mean I'm having a bad time, it's still pretty good, I'm just ready to go.     This email is taking awhile to write because I keep using the keyboard as a drum-set/piano. The schedule is definitely taking a toll on me, but when it really matters I can stay focused and aware. I guess this is why we have P-day, because my brain definitely needs a bit of a break today. We did an activity the other day where we were just supposed to ask questions to try and get to someone's needs and we weren't ...